The influence of human rights instruments on children's rights jurisprudence : an appraisal of the Ethiopian Federal Cassation Court

Abstract

This article seeks to present the work of the Ethiopian Federal Cassation Court in fostering the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, and the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It discovers that children‟s rights jurisprudence is gradually evolving through the utilization of these legal instruments. This development challenges the current academic debate over the silence of Ethiopian courts with respect to their duty to invoke human rights provisions. Equally, it clarifies the confusion about whether Ethiopian courts exercise their mandate to interpret and apply human rights treaties. Nonetheless, the Court‟s involvement in areas including ensuring compliance with the vertical obligation of children‟s socio-economic rights is limited. The article then identifies the challenges that limit exercise of the Court‟s mandate, and suggests potential ways to enhance the Court‟s constitutional duty of protecting and promoting children‟s rights in the country.