Addressing
Judges on Justice and the Law
It is an
accepted criterion all over the world to elect judges on the basis of their
merit and not on any other considerations. In
What Our Minister of Justice in his speech has said on your behalf as well as
the four-day conference that you have attended will undoubtedly contribute to
your enlightenment.
Our history shows that the Emperors and Kings decided cases and handed down
judgment based on precedents and the prevailing custom. They were assisted by
the "Fetha Negest," a legal code compiled by learned ecclesiastics.
It was even a custom to bury a copy of this code with the Rulers - an act
symbolizing the fact that while dispensing justice in their life-time they had
not deviated from the provisions of the "Fetha Negest."
Since in the scale of creation all men are born equal, it is imperative that
all laws should be equitable in their application. For, what is the foundation
of freedom and what are the reasons that men cherish it if they are not equal
before the law? The answer is clear to all of you.
With the assistance of Our elders We have striven to improve the judicial
system of our country from the time that We accepted the high responsibility of
leading the destiny of our nation, realizing that this is part of our trust. As
As you have mentioned in your speech We have been continuously exercised with
the task of dispensing justice with equity. And you must be aware of the
enormous effort that we have devoted to the promulgation of the Civil and
Criminal Codes and to secure the service of foreign legal experts to assist the
execution of these tough tasks both before and after the promulgation of the
Constitution.
This is not the first time that We have addressed an assembly of this nature.
While some of you had actually attended the meeting that was held earlier at
the same place, those of you who were not present must have read about it.
Those who are selected as judges must realize their great responsibilities, for
a judge must endeavor to discover the truth so that his judgment will always be
impartial and unbiased. He must, moreover, strive to overcome fear and to
resist temptations such as those of pecuniary gains and favoritism and any
other practices that might prevent him from the proper execution of his duties.
He should, in addition, seek guidance from the Almighty God, be true to his
conscience and examine objectively cases brought before him to aid him in
avoiding malpractices.
Ignorance No Excuse
No judge could claim ignorance or poverty as an excuse for shortcomings in the
administration of justice because he can neither shirk the responsibility
entrusted to him by the Crown nor perjure his God-given conscience. It will be
found that physical and material handicaps which are often short-lived and
transitory are not as harmful as finding one's self faced with a guilty
conscience. Whenever conflict arises between material and spiritual values the
conscience plays an important role, and anyone who suffers from a guilty
conscience is never free from this problem until he makes peace with his
conscience. As you all are cognizant of those things which displeased God and
brings forth shame, temptations should be rigorously resisted.
Justice is the fundamental axiom for the survival of freedom and government.
We have always been endeavoring to see that what is benefiting people elsewhere
in the world is made available to Our own people. For this reason We ourselves
have been receiving appeals in Our Court. Ordinary small cases which naturally
cannot be handled by Us because of shortage of time have been entrusted to our
Ministry of Justice and other judicial authorities in the faith that justice
will be dispensed with equity in accordance with the responsibility bestowed
upon Us by the Almighty God.
The problem of administering justice is not a thing which exists only in
Our people have always been demanding justice. He who seeks justice knows the
value of justice too. This testifies to the maturity of Our people. This has
been said time and again in history and is not something new. For this reason
We are proud of Our people. We say this
to you so that there will be improvement in the future in the administration of
justice. Although there might have been
failures in the past there is no doubt you have endeavored to administer
justice squarely. In order to satisfy all the demands of all the people, time
is required. As We have already pointed out, that which does not give time is
the feeling of a guilty conscience. We should try to avoid it with all our
efforts.
Expansion
An endeavor shall be made to arrive at prompt decision on the draft regulations
defining the responsibilities of the courts and their administration. It is a
well known fact that the budget of the Ministry of Justice has been increased.
It should also be noted that as the work of the administration of justice
expands, studies will be made for the procurement of still additional funds.
There are various means by which the Ministry of Justice can closely co-operate
with other departments of the government which have their own part to play in
carrying out this task. We shall be passing orders to the Council of Ministers
through our Prime Minister to study the possibility of establishing schools for
juvenile delinquents on the lines of the one functioning in Addis Ababa so that
teenage law offenders who get involved in crimes as a result of their mental
instability can be punished for what they have done in the past and at the same
time be protected against indulging in crimes in the future.
We have time and again said with regard to the Moslem Community, that the
integrity and religious right of everyone should be protected and respected. As
laws are being enacted at all times, We have long ago permitted the drafting of
laws suited to their religious practices. However, since religion and work go
hand in hand, it should be understood that the laws should be practiced in a
method not detrimental to the unity of a nation. Our Minister of Justice will
submit for study the details of the process for the administration of the laws
whereupon decision shall be taken.
In general you - judges - should understand that you have been entrusted with
the great responsibility of protecting the rights of the people and must
therefore endeavor to serve with a spirit of selflessness and integrity so as
to free yourselves from guilty consciousness. We urge you to serve with
integrity today so as to set a good precedent for posterity. Endeavor to serve
with integrity, always bearing in mind what We have told you in the past and
what We are now telling you. Since man has been endowed by the Almighty with
the special quality of judging his own self, let alone passing a judgment on
others, at the hour of pronouncing judgment he must imagine... finding himself
to be in the position of the man in the dock. If one passes a judgment after
search of his conscience and careful reflection picturing his own self in the
position of he who stands before him for trial, and if he does it with good
conscience in the interest of the efficiency of administration of justice,
there is no doubt that he will pass the right judgment.
He who stands before you or Us for trial is equally our brother. To think that
we may tomorrow find ourselves in his place, that posterity will also find
itself in the same difficult situation, in a fundamental applicable to all
professions.
As unfairness and loss of faith in justice torments both the body and the soul,
we urge you to keep yourselves away from befalling such a calamity. Let the
Almighty God engrave these words in the heart of everyone of us.
- His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I