Shaping Public Service in Ethiopia: Regional Adoption of the Administrative Procedure Law
The Issue
At the heart of every interaction between a citizen and their government—whether applying for a business license, seeking a land permit, or accessing vital social services—lies the fundamental need for fairness, equity, and procedural protection. For years, the absence of a comprehensive legal roadmap for these interactions in Ethiopia meant that administrative decisions could often feel arbitrary, opaque, and difficult to challenge. The enactment of the Federal Administrative Procedure Proclamation (No. 1183/2020) marked a historic turning point in Ethiopian legal history, creating a statutory shield for individual constitutional rights and signaling a major shift toward transparency and public accountability. By defining clear rules for administrative decision-making, directive formulation, and judicial review, this federal law established a vital foundation for protecting citizens' rights to be heard and securing direct access to administrative justice.
However, after the passing of the federal law a critical gap emerged in its implementation and adoption of the law by the regions. While the federal proclamation covered federal public institutions and the city administrations of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, the vast majority of the Ethiopians living across the regional states remained entirely outside its protective
umbrella.
The Programme and Partners
To bridge these gaps, the Support to Good Governance (S2GG) Programme - implemented by GIZ on behalf of Germany - recognized a vital opportunity to address a growing public demand for accountable governance. The programme established a landmark partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice, whose institutional mandated role includes monitoring the implementation of laws, creating rule of law standards in legislation. The intervention strategy is anchored in the experience that effective legal reform extends far beyond drafting statutes; it requires building sustained institutional trust and administrative capacity. To achieve this, S2GG facilitated in-depth policy dialogues, provided specialized technical drafting assistance, and delivered tailored capacity-building workshops. These collaborative efforts ensured that administrative actions at both federal and regional levels - including rule-making, issuing directives, and executing executive orders- adhere strictly to statutory standards of legality, fairness, and predictability.
The Reach
By actively engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders across 12 regional states and 2 city administrations, the adoption process ensured that the APL transitioned from a legislative draft into a law that protects citizens daily.
The impact of this outreach is evidenced by the successful scaling of the law. What began as a federal initiative has reached the regional level, creating a unified standard of administrative rules that now covers nearly all of Ethiopia's administrative jurisdictions.
The Impacts
The collaborative intervention established a strong, multi-tiered trajectory of socio-legal outcomes that are currently reshaping the foundation of administrative justice across Ethiopia:
The initiative established a robust statutory foundation by securing the formal enactment of regional Administrative Procedure Laws across 10 regional states and 2 city administrations, while actively engaging 12 regions in total. Through specialized consultations and technical training sessions, policy makers, judges, executive officials, and civil society representatives gained the essential legal knowledge, practical skills, and technical awareness needed to apply, enforce, and navigate the newly enacted procedural standards in their daily operations.
Regional administrative bodies are increasingly integrating mandatory transparency and fair-hearing standards into their routine decision-making processes, leading to greater onsistency in public administration. Concurrently, judicial consistency has been strengthened as empowered regional judges hold executive bodies accountable to procedural rules, while citizens - often with the help of lawyers - utilize the law to challenge arbitrary state actions and defend their rights.
The programme is laying the groundwork for a permanent culture where state power is consistently checked by the rule of law. By institutionalizing predictable administrative processes, the intervention helps rebuild public trust in government institutions, fortifying a stable legal framework that protects the fundamental human rights of all citizens across Ethiopia.
About the Support to Good Governance in Ethiopia (S2GG) Programme
The S2GG programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of Germany. The programme aims to gear the Ethiopian governance system towards the transformation into a democratic and inclusive state based on the rule of law.
Authors: Medhanit Tamene, Component Manager, Dessalegn Tigabu, APL Advisor, Support to Good Governance in Ethiopia (S2GG) Programme
Illustrations: Erna Mentesnot Hintz/GIZ/2026
Photos: © MoJ