Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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FORUM SHOPPING BETWEEN CUSTOMARY AND FORMAL LAWS AMONG THE TULAMA OROMO OF ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 0703-18]

MELAKU Abera, Jimma University, Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, people have a choice between different institutions for dispute settlement. This gives rise to opportunities for forum shopping, in that disputants can select among these institutions in deciding where to argue their case. Taking the Tulama Oromo as a case in point, this paper examines preference of local people for dispute settlement between customary and formal laws and reasons for their preference of one law over the other. The findings have shown that the majority of people living in the study area preferred customary law to the formal one. This forum shopping behavior is associated with positive features of the customary law that include cost-effectiveness, time-effectiveness, geographical proximity, simplicity in law and procedure, participatory in nature, reconciliation of the disputing parties, restoration of the social harmony in the community, sustainability of the decision, absence of corruption and suitable time of dispute settlement. On the other hand, those who chose to take their dispute cases to the formal law associated their preference for its adequate enforcement capacity, accountability, clear appellate structure, recording of decision in written form, punishing the wrong doer, gender equality in service delivery and fair outcome in decision.