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Compare and Contrast Canadian and Ethiopian ConstitutionThe Constitution is a powerful document that is used by countries as a guide on how to run their nation. Every country has a different rule of laws, and this means that every country might vary in the constitutional stipulations as the need of the people of a particular nation are used to develop the Constitution. In this line, the Constitution of the United States cannot be the same as that of the United Kingdom as both nations, despite having a majority of white populations, also differs in other areas. Some of the countries have a written constitution, while others possess a conventional constitution, with some of the countries having both. Another major distinguishing feature that makes the constitutions different is the geographical locations. Most of the European nations have a constitution that has a higher resemblance, but higher variations may be depicted in other geographic locations such as Africa and the Arabic countries. For this assignment will focus on the similarities and differences of the Canadian Constitution and the Ethiopian Construction.
The Canadian Constitution Act, 1982
The Canadian Act was established as part of Canada’s process of patriating the Constitution. The act introduced various amendments to the British North America Act of 1867 that included the renaming of the act to Constitutional Act, 1867. Besides the patriation of the Constitution, the act also enacted the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms, provided for future constitutional conferences, guaranteed the rights of the Aboriginal people of Canada, and as well stipulated the procedure that should be involved in the amendment of the Constitution in future. The process was, however, necessary essential as Canada allowed the British Parliament to temporally to retain the power to amend the Constitution after the Statute of Westminster, 1931, which was on request from the Canadian Parliament, and by 1981, the Canadian Parliament made requests that the UK parliament remove that authority from the United Kingdom, and this came to effect after the Canada Act, 1982 was passed in March to confirm the patriation of the Constitution, transferring the powers to Canada to amend its own Constitution.
The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia
The 1955 constitution of Ethiopia is still applied in the current state of the nation and thus has assumed the supreme law of the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The Constitution came to effect on 21st August 1995 and was drawn by the constituent Assembly that had been elected in June 1994. After completion, the Constitution was adopted by the transition government of Ethiopia in December 1994 and came into force after the May-June 1995 general election. The Ethiopian Constitution is made up of 106 articles which are contained in 11 chapters. The Constitution has various features, such as it provides for a federal government of the nine ethnically based regions that are governed by the Parliament. The Ethiopian Parliament is divided into two, and that is the House of Federation and the House of People’s Representatives.
Furthermore, the Constitution provides for a parliamentary system. However, the Constitution provides for a ceremonial president to be the head of state. The constitution vests the executive power in a council of ministers that is headed by the Ethiopian prime minister. The Ethiopian Constitution is just like any other constitution in regard to the rights and freedoms of the citizens. The Constitution has 13 articles that have been used to stipulate the rights and freedoms that are interpreted in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international instruments as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by Ethiopia.
Similarities between the Canadian and Ethiopian Constitutions
One of the major similarities between the 1995 Ethiopian Constitution and the 1982 Canadian Constitution is that they provide for the rights and freedom of the Aboriginal people in the two countries. The Aboriginal and treaty rights are found in section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the existence of rights and treaty rights in Canada. The aboriginal rights tend to protect the activities, traditions as well as the practices of the indigenous people who are integral to the distinct cultures of the two countries. For example, section 35(2) provides that the aboriginal and treaty rights be extended to the Inuit, Indian, and Metis. Ethiopia is a federation composed of ethnic groups who are rued based on the regional states and chartered cities that are formalized in the Ethiopian Constitution.
Another similarity between the two Constitutions provides for the declaration of the human rights in which the basic sets of human rights are stipulated. The Ethiopian Constitution in Article 13 specifies the rights and freedoms of the citizens as interpreted by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms tends to be the first part of the Constitution and provides for the protection of legal rights, political rights, and the humans’ rights by the bill of rights. Finally, the Constitution of the two countries is that it provides a bicameral legislature. The Canadian legislature is made up of the house of commons of Canada and Senate of Canada. On the other hand, The Ethiopian Constitution also provides for a bicameral legislature with the House of Federation and the House of People’s Representatives, which makes it similar to that of Canada.
Differences in the two constitutions
One of the major differences between the Ethiopian and Canadian Constitutions lies in the judiciary. The Supreme Court of Canada varies with that of Ethiopia in that the judges are appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation brought forth by the prime minister. The Ethiopian Constitution has a federal supreme court, the judges both the president and the vice president are recommended by the prime minister, but unlike in Canada, the judges are appointed by the House of People’s Representatives. In regard to the other federal judges, the names are submitted to the House of People’s Representatives by the prime minister for the appointment.
The Canadian Constitution provides for a monarchial government, and therefore, the executive branch of the government is hereditary. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister and is esteemed to serve for a five-year term. After legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is generally appointed the prime minister by the governor-general. On the Ethiopian Constitution, the president is elected by both chambers of the Parliament to serve for a six-year term, but they can as well seek for a second term. The Ethiopian prime minister is appointed by the party in power following the legislative elections. Another major difference is based on the legal law. The Canadian Constitution is based on the common law system, but there is the exception of Quebec as it uses civil law that is based on the French civil codes. However, the Ethiopian Constitution is based purely on the civil law system. Finally, the Canadian Constitution is made up of both written and unwritten acts, and this is different from that of Ethiopia, which is purely written. Still, there are ethnic laws which are not recognized by the Constitution.
The Canadian and Ethiopian Constitutions tend to be similar and also vary in great heights. One of the similarities that have not been mentioned is the suffrage rights for all, in which the two constrictions have recognized age 18 as the minimum voting age. However, various differences are brought about by the form of government. For example, the Canadian government is monarchial, and thus its system is hereditary while that of Ethiopia is elective. Based on this, it is clear that despite having universals providence by the constitutions, there are specifications that are tailored according to the needs of the local populations as it is the case of the rights and treaties for the Aboriginal citizens.
Works Cited
Act, Constitution. “Part 1: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” (1982).Retrieved from: http://tanakiwin.com/wp-system/uploads/2013/10/i-Constitution-Act-1982.pdfConstitution, F. D. R. E. “the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.” Addis Ababa 1 (1995). Retrieved from: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/et/et007en.pdf
