1410610437

thc crcation ot a group of hangtrs-on, his bcen adoptcd by thc Icgularion ot a numbrr of countrics. 56/

632.    Morcovcr_v although thc AssenaWy may tvo« intertcrc in thc cxercisc of cacecurivc funaioru. it cnjoys thc right of sujxrvtsion undcr thc Constitution. In accord-ancc with articlc 66, it may submtc questioru orally or in wricing and ask for a dcbatc on thc Goycrnmem'* poticy.

633.    In a scmi-presidcntial system such as Out adoptcd lor thc Constitution of Eritrea, relarioos bet w cen . thc £xecurive and thc Asscmbty should naturally be strictly defined. Failurc to indudc provisions to that end, or thc introduction of difftrent provitions, woold havc tramformed thc scmi-presidential synem into a parlia-men tiry one. The limiced kucrcoursc providcd for unda aniele 66 of the Ccasorution is, howcver, sutóotnt to krep thc Chief £xccutive in tooch with pubbc opóaion acd to cnable che pressure of thc lattcr to be a<łcquatc!y fch.

Scaion4. The Judiciary

634.    Aniele 85 of the Constitution of Eritrea pro-. vides that judicial power shall be excrdsed by a Supremę .Court and by other coum wkkb will apply thc various* systems of law in force in Eritrea. Aniele 36 piovid<s that the judiciary shall be coenplctely independent and free front aU polirical influence and freen any pressure or intenrention on the pan of the Assembly or thc Execuriye.

635.    The judges are appoicted by the Chief Łxccu-nvc on thc recommendation of the Presidenr of the As-scmbly to whom a list of ar kast three candidata for appointmcnt must be supplitd by a Cemminee composcd of thc President of the Supremę Court and rwo judges chosen by the mcmbcn oi the Supremę Coun and of the coun or coum immediatcly inferior thereto. The judges are appointed for a period of scven years, w Kich term may be renewed.

636.    It was Ich to the law to esublish the status of the judges and the organiiation of the courts. A deseń p-tiort of the roeasures cakca in this law to eosure thc independence of the judiciary, in accordancc with thc promions of the Constitution, is givcn in chipter VII of this report.

637.    Apart from its junsdicnon as a coun of Ust resort, the Supremę Court has ejcclusrve juiisdiction in the following matters forming an inrcgral pan of the Constitucion on which anion may be rcquired to ensure the observancc and applicatior. of its pTOYiiioai:

(1)    Disputes conccming the consticutionality of Uws and orden;

(2)    Confltcts of jurisdiction betwcen Erttrean courts;

(3)    Actions based on adroinistratiyc acts broughr against the Govrramri\t of Eritrea or thc public senrices, unlcts special coum havc bcen cuabhthed by law to try such caiet;

(4)    Criminal and disciplinary responsibility of judges; and

(5)    Trial of the Chief Executive when impeached by thc Assembly under articlc 75 of thc Constitution.

Secuon 5. The Admory Council of Eritrea

633. The Advisory Council of Eritrea, establiihrd by aniele 84 of thc Constitution, is an institution designed to cnable thc neccssary pb ns to be drawn up for econontic and sodal progress in Eritrea, and to endow the country wkh the techiueal, cconomie, administratur and sodal rcsc jtccs commensurate with its new status.

639.    By the sety establishment of this Admory Council, the Constiturion of Eritrea scrc»scs the impor-tance of such problem* for the country*! futurę. 57/

640.    It lays the foundations and formulates the guiding principles of an essenrial institution which it will be the task of the Ancmbly and the Chief Execmive to or gamie; mainrain and dcvclop.

6^1. An organie law 53/ has bcen drawn up by the Commissioncr, in coCaboraticn n-iih the Brituh Admini-soaóon, to derclop the principles laidL down by thc Constitution and to indicacc the mann er in which the Advisory Counćl shall functioo. The main fearures of this law are deseń be d in chipter V31, sccuon 3 of this report.

Section6. Transitiorul prorisions

642.    * Articlc 96 of the Constitution stipuJaie* that the laws and rtgulations in force shall rcmain in force so long as they have nor bcen repeakd or aroended—pro-vided they do noc cooflśct with thc Constitution. A s im ii ar pronston is to be found in a number of other coosutu-tions. It embodics an iadispuubie prindpk of law. 59/

643.    Articlc 99 cjctends thc term of officc of the AsscmbSy responsibłe for adopting thc Constitution of Eritrea. The Comrousioner had proposed that the exun-sion should noc csccecd iwo years. The Assembly, how-cver, was of thc opinion that this period would not he suffldenc to cnable it to esublish the consticutiona! insri-tudons and to exin>tf>e and adopt the cssemial organie

lITFoTSiluflff, in the Uró d Sum i o I Amelia. thc Ktpu Mk o/ Wi* srJCcyion.

57/ The Admory Council of Cmita nuy bc compiicd to ibf ko* norcic cowmli ki uo, ci*cr onder thc con«ńuuo» or by bw, in ouey cpaftłwi dars>t thrun tluny yrarf. 7>* Aińiory Ov»o1 ci Cńtrra. lic ibo« ccwcruc (ouncili, u not a polekal orpo but a tKhnKjl liriut w the pubU łuiW^rs.

51/ łJACAUŁM

S9/ Cf.TEe Cocurm^iioaoiIrrbnd lirtkk 73K Comwuboo ti Kort* Uaklt 100); Dnh Consutunon of Cincl (smctc 77), Coasoomi «f Ubya Unieb 210).

1

130 THC USntD SAtlONJ AKO THE INDŁPŁNOENCE O? IRriXlA

£ • - ’ law* Ir dtcidcJ that.io vnwał Eritrea* *peoal podcina, a period of at kit! four )var» woulJ be ncccssary.

644. The other transioonal pcomiom Unides 97 *. • aflii 9S| conccrn thc Admictittcnnp Authoricy in Eritrea. ^Ł* their obiat bcing 10 faciliutr thc transfer of ihc power wsied in chat Authoricy under pjnprjph 14 of the I S rcsolution of thc United Naboru General Assembly.

CHATTER IX

THE TRANSFER-Of POTTER

o •

- .<

760.    ParaGraph 15 of the rooiubcn oi the United Nariom General Assembly jui« tłut: *The United Nadons Commissioner shall nuintain his hcadquarters in Eritrea

'•    umil the trans kr of power has bcen completed*, and upon

compkóon *he shaO so repon to thc General Assembly*.

761.    The opiniom capressed doring thc diseus-

¹ C sions by scveral dclegations and th* craditioru of the • •.    United Nadons General Assembly, bom of the cxpericnce

•. «T of prcvious mtssions, showed that in the matter of the

transfer of power the Commissioner was to be regarded morę or less as an "obseoer".

t •/    762. Owing co soroc rvc*vousness among certa in

. _ seaions of thr populatioo doring the transition period. ’ U on 27 August 1952 che Comniuioocr issucd a Press ; 2.    covtńng the following main points:

(1)    The transfer of scoicet had beto the subject of disaissions between the Commissioner and the Ouei Administrator, the Eriucan authoriries and members of thc fepresenuche Assembly, and Ethiopian and 1 ta lian

• r officials;

(2)    During these comersations, the Commissioner

-    had madę elear that the terms of the rcsolution laid upon

^J.    Kim no diiect responsibilicy with regard to fcderal matters

or the transfer of power;

...    (3) Nercrthelcss, in so far as che application of

A paragraph 15 of tbe ccsolarion was cor.ee rncd, it was his }T- ducy, in his capacity as Unhcd Naoons obserm, to report * to the General Assembly on the whole operation;

(4) Tbe Fcderarion, in the form rccocnmendcd by the General Assembly and accepted by the Eritrcan popu-; lidon, strucie a baiance between the Fcderal Govenunenc ' and the autonomous unit of Eriuea. Ic was the duty of ali / inurested panies co co-opcrace in a spirit of mucual understanding in sening up this equilibrium, the possibil-

-    «y of which waj elearly brought out by paragraphs 3 and 5 of the United Nadons rcsolution in whieh the dińsion of rcsponsibilńy between the Fcderal Gewernmem and the Govcmmem of Eritrea was prcdscly defined, and which also provided for Eritrcan partśdpation in the sening up of an Imperial Fcderal Council and in thr Fcderal Govcmroem;

«5| KeCOtt conver>Jtions wkach the Comraisaioncr had had pavt evidenec that ałl panics wirc cquaUy ani-mated by a spru of goodwiO.

763.    ThtsPressieleaseundoubtcdłyhadasoothinp effea on thox scctiocu of opinion which werc thc most apprchcmise. and the feelingof conddenct was strength-ened by the statement madę by the Chief Administrator to the Eritrcan Assembly on 4 Sep cm ber 1952.

764.    The following are the main points of this statement:

fl) The Brittsh Administrarion was bound K the rcsolurioos of 2 Deccmber 1950 and 29 January 1952, and had co tiĘe steps to set up thc Fcderadon and crcatc fcderal senriccs.

(2)    It was the duty of the Administcring Authoriry to decide which amonp the present publk senriccs in Eritrea should become fcderal and which should rcmain Eritrcan. Although chis decision Uy with the United Kmgdom Gosemment, thc United Nations Commissioner and the Govrmmem of Ethiopia had bcen consulicd.

(3)    The rcsolution of 29 January 1952 providcd for the transfer of State propcirty. with cen lin cxccpuom, by thc Btitish Adminutrarion to Eritrea, * Eh u ca* bcing defined in thc rcsolution as leing either the Fcderal Governmcnt or the Govemment of Eritrea, accordir.g to the naturę of the |unsdiaion and responsibilidcs vcsted m the rcspcćuve govcmments by the rcsolution of 2 Deccmber 1950. .

(4)    The pemmions for the transfer madę due altów anct for the legionu te needs of thc Fcderal and Eritrcan authorides. The teans/er was merely thc trsnsmiasioa of a right of occupation and possessioo and of an adminis-irathc rcsponsibility; therc was no implicadon of righc of ownership so cailed. That was a matter to be senkd between thc Fcderal Govcmmcnf and thc Govemmcnt of Eriuea after the setdng up of the Fcderacicn.

($1 The Chief Administrator then ga*c paroiculars of thc scmcci already trinsferrcd to the Fcderal Authori-ties and crnphasircd the faa that the admiuioa of the autonomous unit into a Fcderauon with a sovcrtign Sute which was a Mcmber of the United Nacions hsd brought considcrable benefit to Eritrea, and that in return the Fcderal Gcwemmcnc was enridcd to cnjoy evcry faciliry in Eriuea io cnable it to cope with the respomibiiiries dcvolv-ing upon it under the rcsolution of 2 Deccmber 1950.

765.    Morcover, the sutement of thc Empcror of Ethsopia on Eritrcan partidpation in thc machinery of fcderal govemmcnt, madę at the time of ratifecation of the Fedeial Aa, 60/ strengthencd che favoutaNc psycho-logical c/fca already produced by the assuranccs of thc Commissioner and Chief Administrator.

60/ Oupur V a( thc pinrr* repon,    4f7 (ou rtproi^cJ

h«rj.

Dncument 9 I >1