Abstract:
International laws and standards set out principles and minimum safeguards to administer pardon
and to assist grantees reintegration into the society. Those principles includes, the principle of
non-discrimination, fairness and transparency in decision-making process, the rehabilitative and
reintegration needs of inmates, victim and community participation in decision-making process
and collaborative work of different stakeholders in attaining objectives of pardon. In order to
establish comprehensive administration of pardon, domestic legislations have to comply with
international human rights laws and national constitution. This helps grantees to be law-abiding
and responsible, reducing stigmatization, overcrowdings and reoffending, and to strengthen rule
of law.
However, when compared with the above standards, administration of pardon in Ethiopia has not
yet taken root in the criminal justice system. The way pardon administered and implemented in
Hawassa city administration is analyzed using national, international standards and recognized
good practices of other jurisdictions as a bench mark. And this research intends to explore the
role and effective administration of pardon and its contributions in protecting the rights of
victims, public and the offenders; whether SNNP regional pardon laws ensure national and
international standards of treatment of grantees; and identifying legal, institutional and practical
challenges in administration and execution of pardon laws. The study is conducted based on
interviews, reviewing and analysis of literatures, and experiences of other countries are
consulted.
Moreover, findings of the study has revealed that lack of follow up and supervising organs, lack
of qualified professionals in rehabilitation and reintegration process of grantees, low political
attention given for pardon and looking pardon as a means to reduce overcrowdings and
government costs, improper interpretation of laws are the major factors that limited the effective
administration of pardon. Generally, absence of effective institutional arrangements undermined
the effective administration and fair execution of pardon in Hawassa city administration.
