35 | P age b liability for conduct that has not yet taken place, which would bean invitation to violate the law. An amnesty is distinguished from a pardon. A pardon occurs post-prosecution and revokes the penalty without absolving the individuals) concerned of responsibility for the crime. 164 In other words, a pardon does not extinguish penal responsibility but exempts those convicted of an offence from serving all or part of their sentence. This is also provided under article 229-230 of the CC. The FDRE constitution under article 28 (1) provides that crimes such as genocide, summary executions, forced disappearances or torture may not be subject to amnesty or pardon of legislature or any other organs. However, there is no crime called torture, rather torture is subsumed as underline offence under war crimes and crime of use of improper method. Thus when act constituting torture committed the perpetrator will be charged with war crimes if it is committed in the context of armed conflict or use of improper method in the context of violation of public office duty. Although the constitution provides such prohibition of amnesty and pardon for torture clearly, it is a general law. Recently the country has enacted anew amnesty proclamation No. 1096/2018 which has total of 8 articles and aimed to end up fear of persecution by those person who are abroad. 165 However, the proclamation is applicable for some categories of crimes (crimes against state, crimes against state interest and terrorism). 166 The proclamation excludes crime of terrorism which results death (article 3 of proclamation No. 652/2001) and violation of martial laws (proclamation No. 1/2017 and proclamation No. 2/2018) from the benefit of amnesty proclamation but not crimes of use of improper method which subsumed torture. 167 Internationally, amnesty and pardon are generally neither explicitly prohibited nor required by international treaty and customary laws. International bodies jurisprudence, however, pardon is legally defined as the actor an instance of officially nullifying punishment or other legal consequences of a crime. A pardon is usually granted by the chief executive of a government. ibid see also ICRC, Commentary on the Additional Protocols, 1987, Para 4617. Available at < https://ihl- databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=C6692EB184B56F56C125 63CD0043A476 > (accessed on 19 April 2019). A proclamation to Grant Amnesty for Persons Who are Involved in Different Crimes, Proclamation No. 1096/2018, entered into force 13 th July 2018 (Hereinafter Amnesty proclamation, Preamble Para 1 and Art. 4. ibid Art. 5 (1) (a-l). ibid clause (m-n).
