SCHOOL OF LAW EXCELLING THE REACH OF LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP

THREE SPECIALIZED LL.M PROGRAMS

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About the Law School

Bahir Dar University is established with the broad objectives of cultivating and transmitting knowledge, conducting research and studies in various fields that assist in solving societal problems, and producing competent persons in the respective fields of study, as well as with the view of providing professional services at the regional and national level that help accelerate the overall socio-economic development of the country. The Bahir Dar University Law School has been established within the context of these broader objectives of the University. The Department of Law was officially established by the decision of the University Senate in August 2001, and subsequently developed into a full-fledged Faculty in February 2004, renamed in 2009 as Law School. The School has as its mission serving the basic purpose of playing a major role in producing adequately trained legal professionals who will be prepared to serve their community with legal skills, ethical and intellectual guidance, and to strengthen the qualification and man power of the personnel in the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, counselling and advisory departments, and other institutions engaged in law related activities at various levels. Conducting research and giving community services are also within the mission of the School. The School has also taken a share of responsibility in guaranteeing the proper dissemination of basic ideals of law and protection of universally acknowledged human rights through its Legal Aid Centre. Currently, in the field of law, the School is giving training that leads to Bachelor of Law (LLB) in the Regular, Continuing Education and Distance programs. Because of the ever increasing demand for qualified legal professionals with high level of training, the School has already started expanding its horizon of training into master of laws programs. There are three specialized LL.M Programs launched by the school. Regular Students have been admitted in all the three programs. Our students have come mainly from the academia, the judiciary, and the offices of public prosecution. There are also students who are private attorneys and consultants. Moreover, we have broadened students and stakeholders access to our LL.M through summer program. In this respect, the FDRE Ministry of Defense and the Justice Bureau of Gambella Regional State send students to our LL.M in Criminal Justice and Human Rights program in the summer arrangement. We are preparing to admit into our LL.M Programs (on summer) personnel from the Amhara National Regional State Bureau of Justice, Supreme Court, and Justice System Reform and Research Institute. We are willing and ready to broaden this opportunity on project basis to other governmental and non-governmental institutions. 2

1. MASTER OF LAW IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW Our LL.M Program in Criminal Justice and Human Rights is the first of its kind all over the countrys law schools. It provides students with a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the knowledge and expertise that lead them to become matured and full-fledged professionals in both specific, but interrelated, fields of Human Rights and Criminal Justice.

Students in the Class Room attending Professor Pietros Lecture Program Objectives
The program is designed to train qualified persons in criminal justice and human rights who can help transform the current state of the criminal justice system and human rights practices. The program focuses on a systematic examination of the criminal justice system in its entirety which involves a sustained and methodological investigation of its normative, institutional, procedural and cultural framework. The program is expected to widen the students understanding of theoretical background and legal framework of human rights law. In light of the close inter-relationship of criminal justice and human rights, the LLM in Criminal Justice and Human Rights program will allow the students the flexibility to receive advanced instructions 3 in both areas of law. The program is designed in such a way as to enable students acquire an in-depth understanding of how the criminal justice system works and relate it with human rights law. The program will also develop a range of transferable skills, including in research, written and oral presentation. Graduates will be equipped with an advanced understanding of the legal and theoretical framework of the criminal justice system and human rights. They will be able to identify problems in the criminal justice and human rights issues and come up with workable solutions. Further, they will acquire the knowledge and skills required to conduct cutting-edge research in a

professional manner in their field.

Course Breakdown
The list of courses offered in the program is indicated in the table below by the year and the semester in which they are offered. Advanced Legal Research Methodology Advanced Issues in Criminal Law Criminology The History, Philosophy and Politics of Human Rights Comparative Criminal Justice Policy Advanced Criminal Procedure & Criminal Evidence International Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law Restorative Justice International Criminal Law Comparative Regional Human Rights Protection System Human Rights and Development LLM Thesis

What Students Say about the Program

this wisdom. This is exactly what I have experienced as a graduate student in the criminal justice and human rights program at Bahir Dar University. Thanks to the tireless professors, I believe, as a student, I have benefited a lot. In my stay at the university, I believe, I improved my skills to listen to peoples ideas, critically examine it and support and/or refute against it on the basis of established thought or theory. I have also learned how to work together for a common goal and hence our classes were more of cooperative than competitive. This, I could say, has been quite an important aspect of the classes we have had. To cut it short, if one is to have a better exposure to worldly experience and knowledge related to criminal justice and human rights, I would say this school is a number one choice to avail.

Kidist Gebrehiwot, the first Woman to join our Postgraduate program. She is extremely successful, and proven to be exmplary to all our students and to those who strive to join us.

To learn and to know the unknown is always fascinating. This happiness is astounding when people with vast experience and knowledge are the source of

Abebe Assefa
Being acquainted with the values of criminal justice and human rights laws at times means being the fullest person on the contemporary and pressing issues of criminal justice and human rights. This is, however, hardly possible unless a student is certain to decide and study his/her LL.M in Bahir Dar University, Law school. Attending Law School, in Bahir Dar University, department of Criminal Justice and Human Rights Laws was the best decision I have ever made. My involvement with this program was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my entire life. Simply put, the school offered me the opportunity to grow as an individual and bestow me other valuable extramural skills which will benefit me much in the real world life.

The program, with no doubt, makes the school perfect for me. Because, firstly, it is a new program, as far as my knowledge is concerned, in the history of the countrys law schools. The courses which are offered present a number of different approaches to criminal justice and human rights laws. Starting from criminal behavior courses, focusing on the reasons why crimes are committed and the approaches to reduce the same, to the various legal courses explaining the penalties and the institutions, it offers also the various aspects of human rights laws. In doing so, the program makes criminal justice and human rights two sides of the same coin. It is really interesting innovation to heighten the value of human rights by integrating human rights courses with the criminal justice courses which could enable a criminal justice system responsive to human rights issues. This, for me, makes the program a well ranked program. Secondly, the school, without exaggeration, never made the quality of the program negotiable. I got the opportunity to learn from celebrated professors and experts, who were extremely knowledgeable, from across the corners. They all were marvelous, extremely approachable and helpful so that succeeding in academics was very easy. Besides, it was a pleasure for me to spend two years with highly qualified and cooperative faculty members. All in all, criminal justice and human rights laws program in this school was a great choice for me. I would still choose to go to the School for such program if I had a second opportunity to do so. I would, therefore, highly recommend this School to anyone interested in studying criminal justice and human rights law.

Wondimagegn Gebre 5

Bahir Dar University is really a big university playing tremendous roles in producing intellectuals capable of, in my opinion, bringing change to the country. As part of accomplishing its grand objectives, the university has ever been able to launch and offer many postgraduate programs. As part of the university, the law school is running many attention-grabbing postgraduate programs-of which criminal justice and human rights law is one. I feel lucky that I am expert in both criminal justice and human rights law. The school has done a lot in equipping me (and all of my other classmates) with the expected and required knowledge and skill in the field of criminal justice and human rights law within, if not exceeding, the available resources. One can note that this is not exaggeration when she/he proves that all the courses we took were delivered by instructors of high profile, both in academic and experience qualifications. I believe these good things

would be kept up for they are the reasons that brand the school when compared to its most counterparts. It is always a startling for me that almost all the law school staff have shared and worked for the visions and objectives of the school. Let me use this opportunity that I would like to express my special thanks to the diligent and vibrant law school staff. Above all, I would like to thank all the instructors

that taught me for sowing the seed that inspired me to believe in my abilities to reach for greater heights. All the excellent cooperation of the instructors and those that were around me will always be an inspiration throughout my future career. By now, I appreciated the time I decided to pursue my LLM study at Bahir Dar University. I would like to conclude with the statement Keep the good thingsup

Some of the Professors Handling Courses in the Criminal Justice and Human Rights Program

Publications

1. A book entitled A Rights-Based Approach to HIV Prevention, Care, Support and Treatment: A Review of Its Implementation in Ethiopia, Proquest, USA, 2012, available online. 2. Participation Rights of the Child, Ethiopian Journal of Legal Education, V. I, No2, 2009. 3. HIV Testing From an African Human Rights Perspective: An Analysis of the Policy and Legal Framework of Ethiopia, Mekelle University Law Journal, V.1, No.1 2010. 4. The Ramification of the 2009 Higher Education Proclamation on the Institutional Academic Freedom of Ethiopian Law Schools, Ethiopian Journal of Legal Education, V. 3, No. 2, 2011. 5. The Human Rights Discourse in Perspective: Cultural Relativism and Womens Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, Jimma University Law Journal, V. 3, No. 1, 2010. Doctor Mizanie Abate (LL.B, Addis Ababa University, LL.M, University of Pretoria, PhD, University of Alabama). Dr. Mizanie has been the Director of the school and delivered such Courses as International Human Rights Law, Comparative Regional Human Rights Protection System
studies at Arizona State University in United States. He is a full professor and teaches Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems, Ethics in Criminal Justice, and occasionally Senior Seminar in Criminal Justice. He has recently taught three sections of a graduate course in Advanced Criminology (as a visiting professor in Ethiopia) in the Department of Sociology at Addis Ababa University, in the Faculty of LAW at AAU, and in the School of Law at Bahir Dar University in fall 2011. He gave invitational lectures on transnational organized crimes at the University of Teramo (Italy) in May 2009 and on critical survey of criminological theories at Kenyatta University (Kenya) in May 2007. Dr. Toggia also co-organized and conducted a three-day workshop on human rights and policing for a group of high-ranking Kenyan police officers in August 2005. He has co-edited two books on the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia: Crisis and Terror in the Horn of Africa: The Autopsy of Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom with Ashgate (2000); Ethiopia in

Professor Pietro Toggia (PhD), a visiting scholar, delivers at BDU Law School such course as Comparative Criminal Justice Policy, Restorative Justice.

Professor Pietro Toggia has been teaching in the Department of Criminal Justice since fall 1998. He earned his Master's and doctoral degrees in justice

Transit: Millennial Quest for Stability and Continuity with Routledge (2011). He has also published peer reviewed articles, and presented numerous international conference papers with a primary focus on Africa on such topics as modern policing in Ethiopia, constitutionalism and the rule of law, genocide, kidnapping in Kenya, innovative mobile technology and innovative crimes in Kenya, organized crime syndicate (Mungiki) in Kenya, transitional justice in Africa, anti-vagrancy laws in Ethiopia, comparative police systems and police reforms in Kenya and South Africa at the American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the African Studies Association annual conferences. He has two encyclopedia entries (forthcoming in early 2012) on kidnapping and international guidelines on victimization in The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Wiley-Blackwell). Dr. Toggia currently serves as a member of the editorial boards of the African

Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies (online) and the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (Tsehai Publishers). He also serves as the book review editor of African Identities (Routledge).

Worku Yazie (Assistant Professor) (LL.B, Addis Ababa University; LL.M, Addis Ababa University) Worku Yazie is among the most senior staffs of the school. He has served the school as a dean for several years. His administration had the aspiration to realize that the school would run postgraduate programs, and he took the initiative towards the fulfillment of that vision.Worku is currently teaching and advising students in the Criminal Justice and Human Rights LLM Program of the School. His main research interests are in the area of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and Criminal Evidence.

Publications

1.

Presumption of Innocence and the Requirement of Proof Beyond reasonable Doubt: Reflections on Meaning, Scope and their Place under Ethiopian Law, Ethiopian Human Rights Law Series, Vol. 3, (Addis Ababa University Faculty of Law; AAU Press (January 2010);

4.

Status and Role of Victims of Crime in the

Ethiopian Criminal Justice System, Bahir Dar University Law Journal, Vol. 2, No.1, School of Law, July, 2011; (Co-author) Molla Ababu & Worku Yaze, MATERIALS ON LAW OF EVIDENCE: Notes, Cases and Questions; Eclipse (Addis Ababa); 2010;

5.

2.

Issue Framing and Deciding Burdens of

Proof in Civil Cases: A comment on Ato Gebru G/Meskel v Priest G/Medhin Reda case, Bahir Dar University Law Journal, Vol. 1, No.1, School of Law, Bahir Dar University; AAU Press (April 2010);

6.

(Co-author) Dessie Seioum & Worku Yaze,

False Testimony and Perjury in the Criminal Justice System of the Amhara National Regional State:

3.

Operation and Effect of Presumptions in Civil Proceedings: An Inquiry into the interpretation of Art 2024 of the Ethiopian

Prevalence, Causes, Impacts and Solutions, Higigat, (Journal of Amhara National Regional State Justice Bureau), Vol. 1, No 3, June 2012 /Sene 2004 E.C

Civil Code, Mizan Law Review Vol. 4, No 2; St. Marys University College, 2010;

2. LL.M IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND LAND LAW

Since the second half of the 20th century, the world has seen unprecedented breakthroughs in terms of the level of science, technology, and economic growth. These are normally meant to maximize opportunity, welfare, and security and safety to humanity. Unfortunately, however, there have been numerous phenomena that are proven to be major setbacks to the gains of the progress that humanity could have exploited. One of the most important hindrances to humans achievement is problems posed to the environment. Environmental problems, irrespective of their causes from domestic or global activities, have kept on threatening the wellbeing of human race. Needless to mention the fact that the root-causes for the bulk of ecological problems are traceable to anthropogenic interferences to nature. The economic success witnessed in the development history has been countered by environmental externalities of the development process itself. There has literally been few or no development process that does not put any pressure on the environment. There Training Objectives The program is designed to train qualified persons in Environment and Land Law who can act as experts in the field of land law and environmental law. The program is expected to widen the students understanding of the rules and principle related to land regulation and environment protection. The program is designed in such a way as to enable students acquire an seems to be a consensus that there are way-outs to significantly reduce the adverse environmental effect of development processes. In doing so, environmental policies and regulations occupy a central place in all spheres of human activities. Equally important in that respect is availability of professionals who are well equipped with the knowledge and expertise on important issues and regulatory regimes concerning the environment. Being cognizant of this fact, the law school strives to carryout its share of responsibility by putting in place this unique masters program. The school also underscores the important place that land occupies in the socio-economic life of societies such as those in Ethiopia where significant numbers of the people engage in land-based economic and social activities. There is acute need for legal professionals trained in land governance. The law school has been providing this opportunity to current and prospective students to qualify in the two distinctively important field of study-Environmental and Land Law.

in-depth understanding of domestic and international environmental law policies and principles and the land law regime in comparative perspective. It is expected to equip them with the requisite knowledge that will enable them to research and find out problems in the field of environment and land law.

Students in the class-room with their beloved professor, Ato Melese Damtie 8

Courses Offered in the Program

Advanced Research Methods Introduction to Environmental Science International Environmental Law Ethiopian Environmental Policy and Law Environmental Governance Law and Sustainable Development Environmental Ethic Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations of Property Comparative Land Policy and Law Ethiopian Rural Land Policy and Law Ethiopian Urban Land Policy and Law International and Nile Water Law(E) Ethiopian Water Law and Policy(E) LL.M. Thesis

What Our Students say about the Program

matured instructors, are proposed in a manner that broadens students perception of the concepts, underlining principles and legal frameworks of both domestic and international arena. I, personally, obtain a variety of stances to appreciate environmental and land problems with corresponding mechanisms of solving the challenges. Besides, the diversified discussions and thoughts raised during the lectures enables me (and my mates as well) to grasp wider range of experience in the area. The bunch of miscellaneous experiences, as derived from variety of personalities, in the class room creates conducive environment to assemble skills and knowledge existed in reality with the principles and concepts under the curriculum.

I am Binyam Seleshi from graduate study program on Environment and land Law at School of Law in Bahir Dar University. The program is intended to produce competent man power in the field of environment and land with parallel knowledge of tackling problems arise out of the issues. The lectures, conducted by well experienced and
I have joined the University this year as a post-graduate student of Environment and Land Law- in the School of Law. I have seen most of the courses are being delivered by different professors and professionals coming from different areas outside of Bahir Dar. In doing so, I have

seen encouraging endeavors to bring well versed and practically proficient professors and expert to deliver different courses. Hence, we have got chances to discuss about problems and proposed solution concerning nature and the environment with highly specialized and practically experienced professors and professionals. Besides, there is cooperative and friendly type of relationship among us, i.e. students, between students and staffs of the law school.

Haileeyesus T/Mariam

Some of the Professors Handling Courses in the Environmental and Land Law Program
Melese Damtie (Assistant Professor) (BSC, Addis Ababa University; LL.B, Addis Ababa University, LL.M, University of Amsterdam; PhD Candidate, University of Warwick). He is a visiting professor delivering Ethiopian Environmental Policy and Law

Publications 1. Mellese Damtie & Mohammud Abdulahi, Legal and Institutional Analysis for Sustainable Use of Forest Resources: The Case of Sheka Forest in Southwestern Ethiopia, Forests of Sheka: Multidisciplinary Case studies in impacts of land use/ land cover changes, Southwest Ethiopia, Melca-Ethiopia, 2007 2. Mellese Damtie, Medico-Legal Significance of Duration of Pregnancy Under the Ethiopian Civil Code. Ethiopian Law Review, Vol. 1 No. 1, August 2002. 3. Mellese Damtie and Ellen Alem, Womens Reproductive Rights in the Ethiopian Context" BERCHI: The Annual Journal of Ethiopian Women lawyers Association, Vol. 1 2, summer, 2001. 4. Mellese Damtie, Land use and Forest Legislation for Conservation, Development and Utilization of Forests, published in the Proceedings of a Workshop conducted on February 1, 2001 organized by the Biological Society of Ethiopia under a theme of Imperative problems Associated with Forestry in Ethiopia. 5. Mellese Damtie, Original W. Giorgis and Emebet Kebede, Violence Against Women in Addis Ababa, BERCHI: The Annual Journal of Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, 5, 2004. 10 6. Mellese Damtie and Mesfin Bayou, Overview of Environmental Impact Assessment in Ethiopia: Gaps and Challenges, Melca Mahber, 2008. 7. Mellese Damtie, Collation Under Ethiopian Law of Successions: Payment by Taking Less MIZAN Law Review, Volume 2 2. 8. Mellese Damtie, Land Ownership and Its Relations to Sustainable Development, Ethiopian Business Law Series AAU, Faculty of Law, Vol. 3, 2009. 9. Mellese Damtie (2010) Environmental Law, Book published as part of the NUFFIC project entitled Support to the Development of Faculties of Law of the Jimma and Bahir Dar Universities NPT-Eth-182 and organized by Utrecht University, Eclipse Press, Addis Ababa. 10. Mellese Damtie, Anthropocentric and Ecocentric Versions of the Ethiopian Legal Regime, book chapter in Peter Burdon (ed.) (2011), Exploring Wild Law: The Philosophy of Earth Jurisprudence, Wakefield Press, Kent Town. 11. Mellese Damtie and Solomon Kebede (2012), The Need for Redesigning and Redefining Institutional Roles for Environmental Governance in Ethiopia, MELCA-Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.

 Participation Dr. Dejene Girma Janka (LL.B, Addis Ababa University; LL.M University of Pretoria ; PhD, University of Alabama). Dr. Dejene is a visiting professor who handles a course on Sustainable Development Publications: The Place of Environmental Protection in the Growth and Transformation Plan of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Oromia Journal of Law, 2013. The Relevance of Hobbesian Principles of Punishment in Todays World in light of the Ethiopian Criminal System, Jimma

of

Stakeholders

in

Environmental Impact Assessment Process in Ethiopia: Law and Practice, Jimma University Law Journal, 2011, V 3, No. 1, ISSN 2074-46-17, October 2010. The Domestic Applicability of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in Ethiopia, Ethiopian Journal of Legal Education, V3 No 1, June 2010. Criminal Responsibility of Juridical

Persons in Ethiopia, Jimma University Journal of Law, V2 No1, January 2009. Tell Me Why I Need to Go to Court: A Devastating Move by the Federal Cassation Division, Jimma University Journal of Law, V2, No1, January 2009. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and their Enforcement under the FDRE

University Journal of Law, V4, No1, December 2012. The Construction and Distribution of Condominium Houses in Ethiopia in Light of the Right to Housing, Ethiopian Journal of Legal Education, V3 No 2, Dec. 2010. Environmental Democracy in Ethiopia: Emphasis on Public Participation in the Administration of Environmental Impact Assessment, Bahir Dar University Journal of Law, V.1, No.2, November 2010. Environmental Impact Assessment, Bahir Dar University Journal of Law, V.1, No.2, November 2010.

Constitution, Jimma University Journal of Law, V1 No2, January 2008. The Defence of Duress, Consent and Necessity under the New Criminal Code of Ethiopia, Jimma University Journal of Law, V1, No1, October 2007

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Ermias Ayalew (Assistant Professor) (LL.B, Addis Ababa University; LL.M, University of Pretoria & University of Amsterdam; PhD Candiddate, University of South Africa ). Ermias has been coordinator of the Postgraduate Program, the Research and Community Services Unit of the School. He has Been handling such courses as Advanced Legal Research Methods, Law, Environment and Development.

Publications Environmental Measures for Process and Production Methods in the GATT/WTO rules (published in the Jimma University Law Journal, Vol. 2. 2010). Eco-labelling in the WTO TBT Agreement and Concerns of less developing countries (published in the Bahir Dar University Law Journal, Vol. 2. 2010).

Civil Law Remedies for Victims of Medical Malpractice Under the Ethiopian Law (Ethiopian Journal of legal education, Vol. 4, No.2. 2012). Co-author a Book on the Ethiopian Law of Traders and Business Organizations (published by the support of the Netherlands NUFFIC-NPT project ).

Daniel Woldegebriel Daniel Weldegebriel Ambaye (LL.B, MSc) is a lecturer and a PhD fellow teaching both at the Institute of Land Administration and the School of Law, Bahir Dar University. He received his first degree in laws from Addis Ababa University and

his Masters degree in Land Management from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden. Ato Daniel has been teaching and researching Ethiopian land law for several years. Ato Daniel has a vast experience in teaching and writing modules, research articles and newspaper commentaries. He co-authored two teaching text materials on Jurisprudence and Land Law for Ethiopian law schools sponsored by the FDRE Justice and Legal Research Institute. He also wrote and presented papers on international conferences related to expropriation, land rights, and informal settlements in Hanoi-Vietnam, Marrakesh-Morocco and Rome-Italy respectively.

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3. LL.M IN BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LAW

The dynamics of doing business both locally and internationally demands legal professionals wellequipped with the knowledge and expertise to deal with complex situations in business transactions. Corporate businesses are ever flourishing in the country and across the globe, and everyone expect this trend to mushroom in the years to come. These realities motivate the law school to respond to the acute demand in legal personal in business and corporate law. The program is designed to train applicants with background in law. The program focuses on a systematic examination of the basic aspects of the Ethiopian and international business and corporate regime. The study involves a sustained and methodological investigation of its [business and corporate laws] normative, institutional, procedural and cultural framework. The program is expected to widen the students understanding of theoretical background and legal framework of commercial law. Also, the LLM in Business & Corporate Law program will allow the students the flexibility to receive advanced instructions in related yet distinct areas of law. The program is designed in such a way as to enable students acquire an in-depth understanding of how the Course Breakdown
The list of courses offered in the program is indicated in the table below by the year and the semester in which they are offered. Advanced Legal Research Methods Comparative Corporate Law Business Regulation International Business Transactions Commercial Dispute Settlement International Economic Law Law of Financial Market & Institutions Law of Corporate Finance & Governance Business Tax Law Ethiopian Competition Policy & Law Seminar on the Law of Public Enterprises & Endowments LLM Thesis

international and national business regulatory regimes fare in both economic and legal terms. The program will also develop a range of transferable skills, including in research, written and oral presentation. Graduates will be equipped with an advanced understanding of the legal and theoretical framework of the business, corporate and tax laws of Ethiopia. They will be able to identify problems in business and corporate law and come up with workable solutions. Further, they will acquire the knowledge and skills required to conduct cuttingedge research in a professional manner in their field. Most importantly, graduates are expected to contribute a lot in the understanding and consolidation of the promising business and corporate developments in Ethiopia. Generally, the LLM in Business and Corporate Law prepares students for: a career as an independent researcher in the public and private sector with special focus on business and corporate issues; a career as advisor, consultant, and dispute settlers in matters involving business and corporate issues.

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What Students Say about the Program

from various universities in Ethiopia and abroad (when the nature of the course demands). And the presence of qualified staff also added our confidence. Now, I assure that I feel quite happy knowing that I am studying in respected university in respected area of specialization by outstanding professors across the globe. As per my view, the inter-displinary nature of all the programs, flexible and friendly management of problems in consultation with coordinator, non-existence of unwanted bureaucracy, presence of reserved safe and well-equipped class rooms for each programs, certainty of schedules, opportunities to participate in the research and article publications, research- centered nature of studies and a chance to attend many public lectures which may develop knowledge in addition to individual works and class room lectures are some strengths that I observed and of course which many of my friends will share me. These and other qualities attract the demand of the stakeholders to study in BDU Law School LLM programs. Therefore, it is my firm belief that the programs will add a value in realization of the universitys vision to become one of the top ten premier research universities as of 2025. Lastly, let me wind up by quoting Burt Manuss (well known leadership writer) statement. He states [t]here is no more powerful engine driving an organization toward excellence and long-range success than an attractive, worthwhile, achievable vision for the future, widely shared." So, lets share the vision of our schools LLM programs and in effect assist the realization of the vision of Bahir Dar University. Cheers!!!!

Belay Worku

Bahir Dar University School of Law is training students in its Masters programs launched since the last few years. The programs are heavily trusted to be interesting in terms of the demand on the market, currency, and adding working knowledge of the professionals who are engaged or going to be engaged in the studies to further their career. As a result, I have witnessed stiff competition among the practitioners and academicians from many stakeholder institutions to enroll in the programs. I am a student in Business and Corporate Law program. This program is the youngest in age compared to others. As first entrant, we have been hesitating about the quality and sustainability of this program but the doubts were totally eroded in the first week of the academic year. Because, we observed the commitment and success of our coordinators to trap experience wise enriched and well known professors

the courses by great and renowned professionals in Ethiopia. It also brings foreign teachers from different parts of the world. The staffs are also very cooperative and supportive. They strive to make the program logistically full. All the coordinators of the postgraduate program which I observe in my stay at the school are very committed and try all their best to support students and to make courses to be delivered timely. The school has also a potential in this program. There are many teachers who have expertise in the area. Their existence enables the school to expand the program

I am a first year student of LLM program of business, corporate law at Bahir Dar University. The program is very interesting and multi disciplinary. All the courses in the program have great importance and relevant to the current and future world. As a student of the program I am very happy and learn very enthusiastically. The most determinant thing in the program which makes it very special is the teaching learning process. The school is very careful about the assignment of the professors who teach the courses. It delivers all

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self sufficiently in the future. Above all, the university is also now focus on post graduate programs since it have a plan to be one of the ten research universities in Africa in 2017 EC. This makes the program very strong. Generally, the program is now going fantastic. All the courses delivered well and timely, the environment is good and the program has bright future. I invite everyone who wants to learn your LLM to join this nice and full of market opportunity program at BDU. Finally, I should use this chance to express my wish for a better future for the program and the staffs.

Some of the Professors Handling Courses in the Business & Corporate Law Program
Moser (ed.), Dispute Resolution in China, Juris Publishing, July 2012. Investment Treaties and Investment Arbitration in Asia: Coming of Age, Transnational Dispute Management, Vol. 8, Issue 5, December 2011. Chinese Investment Treaties and the Opportunities Offered by Most-Favoured-Nation Provisions, N. Rubins (ed.), Investment Arbitration Decisions, Juris Publishing, 2011 (co-authored with John Savage). The Emerging Third Generation of Chinese Investment Treaties, Transnational Dispute Management, Vol. 7, Issue 4, December 2010. Chinese Investment Treaties: What Protection for Foreign Investment in China?, in M.J. Moser (ed.), Doing Business in China, Juris Publishing, 2009 and 2011 update. Structuring an Investment to Enhance Investment Treaty Protection?, Singapore Arbitrator, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, April 2008. The New Generation of China BITs: Will More Investor Protection Mean More Arbitration?, The Asia Pacific Arbitration Review 2007 (co-authored with John Savage).

Elodie Dulac (LLM, University of London, Kings

College, United Kingdom DEA (J.D. equivalent), University Paris I Panthon-Sorbonne, France)
Elodie is a senior associate in King & Spaldings Singapore office and a member of the firms International Arbitration group; appointed as an arbitrator in ICC, SIAC and ad hoc arbitrations. ; cochair of the Australasian Forum for International Arbitration. Visiting Lecturer, International Arbitration Course, University of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia Publications Chapter 5 Chinese Investment Treaties: What Protection for Foreign Investment in China?, in M.J.

Economic Law. Publications

The Impact of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement on the Realization of the Right to food, Bahir Dar University Journal of Law, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010. 2. Contribution of a chapter in a book entitled Acceding to the WTO from a Least Developed Countrys Perspective: The Case of Ethiopia The contribution is entitled TRIPS, Plant Varieties and the Right to Food: A Case Study of Ethiopias Legal Regime on Protection of Plant Varieties. The full citation of the book is as follows: Markus Krajewski and Fikremarkos Merso Birhanu (eds.), Acceding to the WTO from a Least-Developed Country Perspective : The Case of Ethiopia, (Nomos Publisher, 2011, Germany, ISBN 978-3-8329-6270-8). 1.

Tilahun Wolde (Assistant Professor) (LL.B, Bahir Dar University; LL.M, University of Pretoria & American University, Washington College of Law). Tilahun Woldie has been handling the course International

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3. An Overview of the Legal Regime Governing Minerals in Ethiopia, Bahir Dar University Journal of Law, Vol. 3 No.3 (Forthcoming) 4. Legal Reform Needed to Govern Ethiopias Petroleum Resources (Addis Fortune Newspaper, Vol. 13, No. 633, June 17, 2012). 5. Co-authored a Textbook on Criminal Procedure Law, (Bahir Dar and Jimma Universities: Printed at Eclipse,

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2010).

Hailegebriel Gedicho (Assistant Professor)(LL.B, Bahir Dar University, LL.M, University of Groningen). Hailegebriel has deliver a course on Commercial Dispute Settlement Publications
European Influence on Ethiopian Antitrust Regime, 3 Mizan Law Review 2, at 271-287 (2009) [Available at http://ajol.info/index.php/mlr/article/view/54012/42555.] Deck Carriage under the Maritime Code of Ethiopia: A Comment on the Decision of the Addis Ababa High Court in Girma Kebede v Ethiopian Shipping Lines Case, 1 Bahir Dar University Journal of Law 1, at 157-162(2010) [available at www.ssrn.com ]. The Role of Ethiopian Courts in Commercial Arbitration, 4 Mizan Law Review 2, at 297-333 (2010) [available at www.ajol.com.] Managers Power, Ultra vires and Third Parties under Ethiopian Law: a Critique of Ethiopian Mineral Development SC v GTT Trading, 1 Bahir Dar University Journal of Law 2, at 287299[available at www.ssrn.com ]. Ethiopian Law of International Carriage by Air: An Overview, 5 Mizan Law Review 2, at 215-245 (2011) [Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/mlr.v5i2.2.]. A Legal Appraisal of the Liability of the Actual Carrier under Ethiopian Law, 2 Bahir Dar University Journal of Law 1, at 85 -101 [available at www.ssrn.com ].

The Scope of Article 2081 of the Civil Code: A Comment on Negist Makonnen et al v. Ethiopian Airlines, Inc., 2 Bahir Dar University Journal of Law 1, at 153-158(Also indexed in Public International Law eJournal, Vol.7, No.59, May 7, 2012; available at www.ssrn.com). Bahir Dar Suppliers Conspiring against Competitive Price, Addis Fortune (Dec 12, 2010, available at http://www.addisfortune.com/opinion.htm.). Federalisms Frailty Where Multiculturalism Exists, Addis Fortune (April 19, 2009, available at http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%209%20No%20468%20Arc hive/opinion.htm.). Avoid Misuse of Abuse of Dominance Law, Addis Fortune (Dec 14, 2008, available at http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%209%20No%20450%20Arc hive/LetterAvoid%20Misuse%20of%20Abuse%20of%20Dominance%20L aw.htm.). Antitrust Law Regulates Acquisitions, Addis Fortune (July 31, 2011, available at http://www.addisfortune.com/Antitrust%20Law%20Regulates %20Acquisitions.htm.). Carrier Liability Limitations Archaic, Addis Fortune (May 27, 2012, available at http://www.addisfortune.net/Carrier%20Liability%20Limitation s%20Archaic.htm

Admission Requirements in all the Programs

In order to be considered for admission to the programs, candidates must hold an undergraduate degree in law with a minimum CGPA of 2.0. Additional admission requirements include: A passing score on the program entrance exam, as set by the School; Submission of the required number of official transcripts of academic record, which must be sent directly to the BDU Registrars Office by the issuing institution; 16

Submission of application form to the BDU Registrars Office; Presenting a letter of sponsorship from financial supporter, if any; Payment of the university application fee. Other requirement set by the University Senate Legislation

Duration of Study in all the Programs

Students are expected to complete the program and earn their degree over a period of two (2) academic showing years. special be permitted to extend this time with the approval of the Postgraduate Program Coordinator, provided the duration of the study is not more than three (3) Academic Years.

However, compelling

students

circumstances

may

Quality Assurance Mechanisms of the Programs

With a view to achieve the aspired goal of excellence by running the programs the proper quality assurance mechanism will be used in the input, process and output levels. Thus due consideration will be given to merit and excellence in the recruitment of trainees and appointment of teaching professors. The training will be student-centered and participatory, and one that require intensive reading. Standard to assess the performance of students. The programs and their contents will be evaluated from time to time according to its dynamic nature. Feed backs from will be trainees and by employing way of

institutions

gathered

questionnaire, interview or discussion forum. Impact assessment may also be made to check the achievement of the standards set as graduate profile.

assessment and testing mechanisms will be used

Our Library Collections

Our Library is one of the best libraries in the country in terms of the variety of books and other collections that are relatively recent and up-to-date. The school has always been thankful for those governments, institutions, and individuals who have enabled us to own an excellent library. In this respect, we recognize the generosity of the Netherlands Government that contributed a lot to our library by putting in place the money through its NPT-NUFFIC project. We are Grateful to the American Bar Association for donating thousands of books to us through the BDU Law Students 17

Union. We are extremely indebted to Professor Pietro Toggia for the commitment and selfless endeavors and successes in bearing the burden of collecting from different sources hundreds of books in the area of criminal justice and other disciplines.

Research Activities
The Law School has been working to carry out its share of responsibility towards the fulfillment of the Universitys grand vision to become one of the top ten Universities in Africa. To that end, the school has been making sure that researchers would get the forums to present their research works and share ideas with fellow scholars. Every single opportunity has not been missed unused in order to make use of and benefit from expertise of scholars in and out of the country by way of organizing seminars and public lectures. Academic staffs have been conducting researches in different topics that are expected to have immense importance in solving communitys problem. The following are the research thematic areas that the school carefully identified and approved for all future researches:

Criminal Justice and Human Rights Environmental and Land Law Economic Laws Governance and Democratization

These thematic areas are meant, among other things, to strengthen our postgraduate programs through research. The schools strategy on putting the research outputs into practical problem solution has been made clear in its community services thematic areas. They are identified as:

Free-Legal Aid Services Community-based Legal Awareness Programs

Our Journal
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We have the BDU Law Journal. It has been serving our postgraduate program by proving the opportunity for the staff and our Masters students to publish their works. It is also a forum for legal intellectuals across the country and abroad to publish their academic works. The school succeeds in maintaining its fourth uninterrupted publications. The fifth publication is underway, and it will be issued very soon. The dedicated editor-in-chief and the committed editorial committee work tirelessly with the vision of excelling the reach of legal scholarship. The advisory board composed of esteemed professors and practitioners in the country and abroad. They always extend unreserved support for the editorial committee, and watch for the quality of the Journal.

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Contact Address:
Mizanie Abate (PhD) Director, School of Law Mobile: 0913250026 E-Mail: lawmizane@yahoo.com Ermias Ayalew Chernet (Assistant Professor) Postgraduate, Research and Community Service Coordinator School of Law Bahir Dar University Mobile: 0911975810 0918767674 E-Mail:- ermilaw@yahoo.com P.O.Box. 1364 Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

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