Between 2018 and 2024, AEPICAB, in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), implemented the Justice Capacity Building Project (JCBP), delivering short-term professional trainings and postgraduate LL.M. programmes for the personnel of Ethiopia’s justice sector institutions. The project was funded by the Government of the Netherlands through its Embassy in Addis Ababa.
The initiative aimed to strengthen Ethiopia’s legal and justice systems by enhancing human resource capacity at both federal and regional levels. Key beneficiary institutions included the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Judiciary, the Oromia Regional Justice Bureau and the Judiciary, and justice institutions in the Somali Regional State. Implementation was carried out through close cooperation between VU Amsterdam, AEPICAB, and local partner universities.
LL.M. Programmes
The project prioritised postgraduate legal education to address critical skills gaps in the justice sector. LL.M. programmes were delivered over 24 months and tailored to the needs of federal and regional institutions. They were implemented in partnership with Mekelle University and Oromia State University in Batu, with academic support from VU Amsterdam and international experts. Successful participants were awarded LL.M. degrees following coursework and the defence of a final dissertation.
Specialisation areas included, among others:
- Legal Drafting and Legislative Studies
- International Human Rights and Constitutional Law
- Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
- International Tax, Business, and Investment Law
- Alternative Dispute Resolution and Land Law
Pictures from the graduation ceremony on 5 Dec.2022 in Batu
Short-Term Trainings
From 2019 to 2024, short-term trainings were delivered to the justice sector professionals from federal institutions, the Oromia Region, and the Somali Regional State. These trainings focused on practical skills such as public prosecution, investigation, case-flow management, mediation, and international arbitration. In the Somali Region alone, a total of 1,292 justice sector personnel benefited from in-service training programmes, significantly strengthening institutional capacity and professional standards.
In the Somali region the objective of the in-service training was to enhance the knowledge and skills as well as to influence the attitude of legal professionals from across the justice sectors positively. Indeed, the program has successfully trained 1292 personnel as you can see from the attached summary three tables below.
Codes of Conduct
As part of the Somali Regional State component, contextualised Codes of Conduct were developed for key justice institutions, including the Police, Public Prosecution, Judiciary, and Prison Police Administration. The process followed a broad consultative approach and concluded with validation in February 2023. The final Codes were formally handed over in May 2024 and are expected to be submitted for parliamentary ratification. The drafting process demonstrated strong local ownership and institutional commitment, led by national experts with active participation from regional institutions.
The experts engaged for the drafting of the Codes of Conduct validation workshop February 2023.
