CHSFS Court-Update
Monday, February 9, 2009
CHSFS Court-Update
This entree is for Katy C. I hope this helps & we're in this together! :)
CHSFS Ethiopia Program Eblast (Written by CHSFS Ethiopia)
Court-Specific Update
As many of you are aware, the Federal First Instance Court in Ethiopia has been experiencing court processing delays. The following Q & A will help you better understand how the situation may affect you. Please contact your Ethiopia Specialist with any questions or concerns.
It seems the federal court is slow to hear and decide adoption cases since it re-opened for civil cases in October 2008. How much slower has it been this year, and what is the reason why?
The overall number of pending cases has risen steadily over the past three years, affecting how quickly the court is able to hear cases. When courts re-opened in 2006, we saw cases being for an official hearing by mid-October. In 2007, cases were being scheduled for an official hearing by mid-November. In 2008, the first round of hearings was not scheduled until mid-December. This timeline was true for all agencies; we believe that CHSFS and its adoptive families receive the same level of priority by the federal court as families being represented by other registered agencies. Meanwhile, a new judge was added this past December, after the presiding judge left for a maternity leave. We understand the newly appointed judge will need some time to become familiar with the proceedings for adoption cases. At present, one working judge and his appointed clerks work together to sign off on each approved court order.
Why are cases that are pending a hearing being postponed?
A hearing may be postponed for a number of reasons. In the best interest of the children being adopted, both the federal court and the Ministry of Women's Affairs are scrutinizing legal documentation more closely now than ever before. This extra care is to ensure that the children are in fact in need of adoption. It provides assurances that birth families have consented voluntarily to relinquish their custody and responsibility for these children. Another factor that has contributed to the delay is the recent relocation of the Ministry of Women's Affairs office, during which a work stoppage occurred.
Why are postponed cases not being rescheduled for hearing any sooner than six to eight weeks from now?
The growing volume of adoption cases has put an increased demand on the federal civil court. As we understand it, the judge and clerks have about one week to review legal documents in advance of a scheduled hearing. With so many cases already on its docket, the court is reluctant to reschedule previously postponed hearings if that would force the cancellation of current hearings where preliminary review work has been done. To pre-empt scheduled hearings would bring the whole court system to a sudden and drastic halt.
What is the federal court able and willing to do to address this situation?
Until now, the court has not been able to adjust its staffing to respond to the volume of adoption cases. However, the federal court does intend to act to increase the number of judges. Our understanding as of late last week is that new judges have been appointed, but not yet authorized to begin working. Once authorized, we anticipate it will take a couple of weeks before each judge will actively be hearing and deciding cases. Unfortunately, we do not know the timing of this important development, nor is it known how many new judges will be assigned to adoption proceedings. These are discretionary decisions to be made by the federal court administration.
What is CHSFS Ethiopia able and willing to do in response to the federal court situation?
CHSFS Ethiopia does its very best to submit legal papers to the court registrar to schedule a hearing date just as soon as a family is matched to a referred child. To help achieve this objective, CHSFS Ethiopia consistently sends and receives dossiers back from the translation service within two working days. CHSFS Ethiopia also discusses unusual and complicated child background cases with Ministry of Women's Affairs officials to resolve any matters that could hinder the adoption process. Finally, CHSFS delivers all completed, necessary legal documents to the court registrar prior to the scheduled hearing to better ensure each case will be decided judiciously and without the need for a follow-up hearing.
CHSFS Ethiopia Program Eblast (Written by CHSFS Ethiopia)
Court-Specific Update