Trade, investment divisional court opens its doors in Addis

The Federal Court of First Instance officially launches a divisional court solely focused on Trade and Investment in the vicinity of the former "British Council" building around piazza.

The 12th divisional trial, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tagese Chafo, President of the Federal Supreme Court, Honorable Meaza Ashenafi, and Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court, Solomon Areda attended the event held on Sunday October 9, 2022.

The trail, which is composed of 11 hearings, deals only with construction, investment, and banking and insurance issues. Five of the hearings under the classification hearing are assigned to commercial matters, and the other five hearings are assigned to banking and insurance matters. The remaining one hearing is assigned to deal with construction related issues. The trial was started on June, 2022.

The divisional court is composed of 14 judges and five assistant judges. The assigned judges have at least a second degree and their education is in business and construction law. Records that are opened in this category are classified by the judge through the technology system developed "out of human contact". The divisional court has a "Court Facilitator" section where cases in construction, business, banking, and insurance cases are settled by agreement before they go to trial. In addition to this, the divisional hearing also has a teleconference room that allows disputing parties to debate and hear witnesses and obtain various decisions without being required to appear in person.

“The Supreme Court is a starting point for paying attention to business and investment, the Divisional Court has started providing technology-assisted services by implementing the court's case flow management guidelines and court compliance guidelines,” said Foad Kiar, President of the Federal First Instance Court.