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Exploring the dynamics of Ethiopian administrative contract law: Principles, regulations, and interaction with other government contract laws


Daniel Esubalew Alemayehu

Abstract

The legal framework governing administrative contracts in Ethiopia is essential for government contracts involving public services, works, and goods. However, uncertainties persist in Ethiopian legal practice regarding the applicability of traditional administrative contract law due to several key issues. This article critically examines relevant Ethiopian laws related to government contracts, Federal Supreme Court Cassation Bench Decisions, and various literature on administrative contract jurisprudence, as well as practices of other jurisdictions with similar legal norms. The study is geared towards assessing various problems, including the lack of a clear and evolving definition developed by the judiciary on the types of administrative contracts, the absence of uniformity in applicable laws for similar government contracts, and the development of different laws such as public-private partnerships, procurement contract laws, and investment contracts without a clear delineation of the interrelations between them. Furthermore, the lack of understanding of the different goals of these laws poses significant challenges. Additionally, problems arise from the Ethiopian administrative contract legal regimes, such as the absence of specificity in determining administrative contracts, leading to disputes between parties and potential violations of due process of law. To this effect, the article recommends the harmonization of related laws, specifying the relationship with preexisting legislations in newly enacted and related laws.


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2305-3739
print ISSN: 2227-2178
 
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