The Implications of Constittuional Amendemnt Procedures on the Protection of Human Rights under the Fdre Constitution: An Appraisal

Abstract

 The Constitution of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia establishes a stringent amendment procedure particularly on the provisions that deal with fundamental rights and freedoms. While this is a manifestation of the high value the Constitution confers to human rights, the finding of this Article, however, identifies that this rigorous constitutional amendment impedes the constitutionalization of new set of rights. It also discourages an effort to elevate the level of protection of the already recognized rights. In contrast, there are some constitutional provisions relevant to human rights but amendable through the ordinary amendment procedures. This is basically good as it makes an attempt to strengthen the constitutional provisions of human rights through amendment easier. The problem, however, is that they are susceptible to abuse by political organs having constitutional amendment power. The objective of the Article is, thus, to appraise the implications of constitutional amendment procedures on the protection of human rights under the FDRE Constitution. The Article contends that flexible constitutional amendment procedures against the preventive effects of rigorous amendment rules be adopted. With regard to the negative consequences of the flexible amendment procedures, the Article also suggests for a proper review of constitutional amendment process to ensure that the amendment power is exercised within the limits of the Constitution.