Browsing by Author "Fessha, Yonatan T."
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Item Freedom of religion and minority rights in South Africa(MPDI, 2021) Fessha, Yonatan T.; Dessalegn, BezaThe South African Constitution contains an extensive list of rights, several of which are relevant, directly or indirectly, to accommodate the needs of persons that belong to a religious minority group in South Africa. This article examines the extent to which these protections are utilized by individuals and courts and explores the interplay between these various sources of protection that religious minority groups and their members can rely on. It will examine the courts’ case law on freedom of religion to determine whether the courts have relied on one or all of the rights offered by the Constitution when dealing with claims made by persons belonging to a religious minority group. The reasons for and impacts of the choices that the courts have made will also be investigated. Equally important are the choices made by persons belonging to a religious minority group when approaching courts to vindicate their rights.Item Origins, relevance and prospects of federalism and decentralization in the horn of Africa(2022) Fessha, Yonatan T.; Dessalegn, BezaThe Horn of Africa is the most conflict-ridden region in the African continent. Both inter-and intra-state conflicts have dominated the region. In a bid to check intra-state conflicts and accommodate ethno-national and religious diversity, federal or federal like models of governance have been proposed, discussed, and, in some cases, adopted across the region. Focusing on Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, this article discusses the origin, reasons, and prospects of the federal idea in the Horn. The article argues that the major rationale for the federal idea in the Horn is the containment of communal tensions. Yet, the track record of federalism in alleviating communal tensions has not been encouraging. This is partly related to design issues that have undermined the efforts to use federalism to address communal tensions. More importantly, however, the commitment to genuinely implement the federal idea has largely been absent.Item Second chamber as a site of legislative intergovernmental relations: An African federation in comparative perspective(Routledge, 2021) Fessha, Yonatan T.South Africa, a country that does not recognize itself as a federation, has established a second chamber that is probably ideal for legislative intergovernmental relations. The National Council of Provinces is explicitly mandated to represent provincial interests. This is so both in terms of composition and the authority it enjoys in influencing national legislation. This article argues that the functioning of the second chamber tells a different story. The South African experience reveals that a properly designed second chamber may not deliver the desired result of facilitating legislative intergovernmental relations owing to internal operational rules that do not allow subnational governments to properly consider a bill, formulate a mandate that reflect subnational concerns and instruct their delegation to vote accordingly. Intergovernmental relations, as a result, continues to be the domain of the executive, denying the federation the benefit of an institution for intergovernmental relations that is open to public scrutiny.