Justice Sector Transformation Delivers Visible Results, State Minister Says

Addis Ababa, July 1, 2026 (ENA) — Ethiopia's justice sector is undergoing a broad transformation that is steadily improving service delivery through stronger coordination, legal reforms and enhanced accountability, State Minister Belayhun Yirga said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Justice State Minister Belayhun Yirga said that extensive collaboration between federal and regional justice institutions has strengthened criminal investigations and improved the implementation of justice reforms across the country.

"The criminal investigation work and the activities carried out jointly by the federal and regional justice institutions are very extensive," he said.

The state minister noted that coordinating justice administration across federal and regional governments remains a complex task, requiring continuous oversight and institutional support.

"The oversight and support provided to ensure that laws and procedures issued at the federal level are effectively implemented by the regions is not simple," he said.

According to Belayhun, joint assessments conducted by federal and regional justice institutions have played a central role in identifying institutional gaps and improving performance.

"By jointly assessing the work of the federal and regional justice institutions and identifying the weaknesses and gaps that exist, they have produced many joint results by presenting appropriate evidence," he said.

He added that the findings from those assessments have guided targeted reforms and contributed to measurable improvements in the justice sector.

Belayhun recalled that the current reform agenda was launched with the preparation of a five-year strategic plan in the 2018 Ethiopian Fiscal Year by the Ministry of Justice and regional justice bureaus.

"Recently, in the 2018 Ethiopian Fiscal Year, a five year strategic plan for justice was prepared by the Ministry of Justice and the regional justice bureaus and put into operation. Its aggregate results are now becoming visible," he said.

The state minister also highlighted the implementation of a three-year national justice transformation program, which has built on the strategic plan and expanded reforms throughout the country.

"This has produced numerous outcomes. At the community level, there have been gains in access to justice, and regional authorities have worked not only to issue decisions but also to establish legal mechanisms that enable people to obtain legal remedies," he said.

On administrative justice, Belayhun said significant progress has been made in strengthening accountability and ensuring that public institutions comply with the law.

"Work was done to make bodies that do not provide proper, lawful services legally accountable. All regions, except one or two, adopted administrative procedure legislation," he said.

He explained that the new administrative procedure laws provide legal mechanisms to review improper administrative decisions, improve transparency, and ensure greater accountability in public service delivery.