Community Service as Alternative To Imprisonment in Ethiopia: A Comparative Study

Belayneh, Berhanu

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dc.contributor.author	Belayneh, Berhanu
dc.date.accessioned	2017-10-13T09:35:34Z
dc.date.available	2017-10-13T09:35:34Z
dc.date.issued	2017-10-13
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/8016
dc.description.abstract	This study examines the normative, institutional and practical aspects of Community Service in Ethiopia compared to that of Zimbabwe and Uganda. This form of punishment is imposed for minor crimes and requires offenders to perform certain works and services than facing jail. The Code provides certain preconditions for the imposition of this punishment; the ability to discharge the sentence and non-dangerousness of the offender. This researcher has employed a doctrinal and qualitative non-doctrinal research method. For the non-doctrinal part, the methods of data collection used were semi-structured interview, FGD and investigation of court files. And, the researcher found the following normative, institutional and practical problems. Normatively, Community Service is not sufficiently regulated scheme in Ethiopia. For instance, the law is not specific on: the means through which the courts would know the existence of works and placement institutions; the issue of matching the skill of offenders and available works; the constituents of failure to discharge the Order; the effect of commission of crime during the period of Community Service; the procedures to be followed in securing the attendance of offender before the court when s/he breached the Order; the maximum and minimum working hours per day. The researcher has found other preconditions to be considered before passing Community Service Punishment. In addition, it has been argued that fixing the duration of Community Service in days/months poses difficulty of enforcement, particularly where the offender is an employee. Furthermore, perfect equivalence between the length of imprisonment and the duration of Community Service does not seem practicable and logical. Further, automatic revocation and/or impositions of imprisonment in case of failure to discharge the Order would not be a tenable response, and other preliminary measures such as warning and imposition of fine without revoking the Order must be tried. Despite its long existence, Community Service in Ethiopia, unlike in Zimbabwean and Ugandan, is rarely practiced all over the country, and lots of offenders who committed crime punishable with a term not exceeding 6 months go to jail. This in turn will create prison overcrowding with its adverse effect on the condition of prisoners, expense of government and rehabilitation of offenders.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	low	en_US
dc.title	Community Service as Alternative To Imprisonment in Ethiopia: A Comparative Study	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US