Immunity on Trial: Ethiopian Courts, Chinese Corporations, and Contestations over SovereigntyPolitical and legal immunity are justified by the principle that certain social aims outweigh the value of imposing liability. To be exempt from the rules, however, is a privilege granted to or demanded by the powerful. The structural disparities that underpin immunity can turn it into an unjust prerogative, one that is inscribed by global inequalities. Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary wave of litigation against Chinese corporations in Ethiopia, Immunity on Trial probes the question of immunity in everyday encounters steeped in highly asymmetrical power relations. Drawing on observations from the courthouse, interviews with litigants, judges, and court support staff, and analyses of case files, Miriam Driessen demonstrates how immunity is debated and delegitimized—or affirmed—by those who fight, exact, grant, or weigh it. From the construction site to the police station, from the registrar’s office into the courtroom, she documents tussles over immunity, unraveling the politics of dignity on which they are founded. |
Other editions - View all
Immunity on Trial: Ethiopian Courts, Chinese Corporations, and Contestations ... Miriam Driessen No preview available - 2026 |
Common terms and phrases
Abiy Addi Achefer Addis Ababa Africa agreement Amhara Region arbitration Bahir Bahir Dar bench Berihun capital Cassation Decision CCCC chapter Chinese company Chinese contractor Chinese corporations Chinese engineers Chinese enterprise managers Chinese firms Chinese litigants Chinese managers Chinese parties Chinese project manager Civil claims communication construction contract country’s courtroom criminal Development dignity diplomatic Dire Dawa dismissal disputes Driessen employment EPRDF Ethio Ethiopian laborers Ethiopian lawyers Ethiopian legal Ethiopian plaintiffs Ethiopian workers Ethnic expatriate managers Federal Supreme Court former judge Gidey global Gregorian calendar High Court Hintalo Wajirat Hintalo Wajirat Wereda hotel manager Huawei Technologies immunity infrastructure International interpreter Interview with judge Investment investors Journal Judge Kahsay Judge Mengesha judicial jurisdiction Kenya lawsuits legal system Liben lower courts Mekelle Melashu Meles Zenawi negotiation plaintiffs police political Proclamation prosecutor region request road social sovereignty staff subcontractor Temesgen Tigray tion University Press Wajirat Wereda Court Weldiya Wu Yi