Zeray Yihdego

An Exploration of Fairness in International Law through the Blue Nile and GERD

ABSTRACT The principle of fairness operates alongside lofty principles of international law, such as equity and justice. However, these concepts often face criticism for being too vague to shed any meaningful light on the practical interpretation and implementation of international law within specific fields. By analysing the cooperation between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the Blue Nile, this paper seeks to address such criticism. It suggests that the concept of fairness does have value as a framework for analysing both commitment and compliance in international law; and that exploring specific contexts, such as legal developments related to the Blue Nile, helps give it further meaning.

How has the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam changed the legal, political, economic and scientific dynamics in the Nile Basin?

ABSTRACT This issue articulates the opportunities and challenges surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) through multiple disciplinary lenses: its possibilities as a basis for a new era of cooperation in the eastern Nile basin; its regional and global implications; its benefits and possible drawbacks; the benefits of cooperation and coordination in dam filling; and the need for participatory and transparent decision making.

The Law and Policy of Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection in Ethiopia: An Appraisal of Theories, Practices and Challenges

This article explores selected and topical features of Ethiopian foreign direct investment (FDI) law and practice in light of the laissez-faire (or liberal) and statist approaches to promoting and governing inward foreign investment. It particularly focuses on entry and operational requirements, including the extent to which some economic sectors are restricted to foreign investors, the rules of local content with emphasis on local employment, protection offered to investors and their investment, the aggressive state intervention in facilitating and attracting FDI and some of the challenges affecting FDI such as the controversial large-scale land deals between the government and foreign investors. By applying general doctrines and approaches of FDI law, it argues that the Ethiopian FDI legal framework is consistent with the trends and foundational standards of international investment law (IIL); it further finds that Ethiopian FDI law and practice are predominantly statist. While this approach to FDI can be acclaimed for attracting foreign investment and helping economic growth in developing countries like Ethiopia, lack of transparency, accountability and lack of strict adherence to local content rules and policies raise concerns. Addressing the various governance and other interpretive and technical challenges would be vital to building a healthy, sustainable and fair (foreign) investment regime to those who invest, to communities and to the country at large.

Towards Resolving Our Development, Integration and Security Challenges Through International Law

As editors of the Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law (EtYIL), we are pleased to offer to our readers the 2017 issue of the Yearbook—the second in our series.

Towards Rebalancing the Narrative of International Law

The Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law (EtYIL), like many others in the field, is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes scholarly works of the highest standard in the field of international law broadly defined. However, unlike most journals, EtYIL is dedicated to those issues of international law that are of particular interest to the African continent in general and Ethiopia and the Horn in particular. EtYIL’s point of departure is the fact that these countries do not just lack adequate representation at the table where international law is made and interpreted; their ability to contribute to the evolution of international law is also severely constrained owing, in part, to their absence from the scholarly debate in the field. A key mission of EtYIL is therefore to provide a platform for purpose-oriented scholarly analysis and debate on issues of particular significance for these countries so as to enhance their capacity to contribute to this evolution. More generally, the Yearbook aims to contribute towards the long-term goal of rebalancing the narrative of international law in a manner that better reflects the diversity of its actors and subjects.

The South Sudan Crisis: Legal Implications and Responses of the International Community

South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has been engulfed in violence and conflict periodically since that time. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has played a major role in brokering peace talks between the respective parties. This role, as well as the role of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which recently authorised, through Security Council Resolution 2304, the deployment of a 4000-member Regional Protection Force (RPF) to Juba is discussed. This piece aims to provide an insight into some of the challenges and legal developments associated with ensuring lasting peace, addressing (and preventing) the allegations of widespread violations of international law, as well as the internal armed conflict affecting South Sudan, in light of the nature of responses from the international community.