39 | P age b with a crime for so doing. 182 Subject matter (or functional) immunity covers the official acts of all state officials (Acta jure imperii) and is determined by reference to the nature of the acts in question rather than the particular office of the official who performed them. Personal immunity is the one which is attached to the person, which cover any act that some classes of state officials perform. 183 Immunity is, generally, legal grants to individuals or entities to prevent them from being held liable fora violation of the law (criminal prosecution). 184 Regarding the law and practice in Ethiopia, the new criminal code recognized international relation based immunities for foreigner. This is enforceable in Ethiopia as Ethiopia signed multilateral treaty. 185 However, Ethiopia does not have a comprehensive immunity law by which the relationship between Ethiopia and other international community governed 186 and domestic state officials immunity law is also found indifferent pieces of laws. The only law that provides immunities in Ethiopia for foreigners is the CC. 187 Immunities arising from public international law bar criminal action against immune foreigner officials or international entities from Ethiopian Courts. 188 The CC reference to the public international law as sources of immunities should be interpreted as referring international immunities laws to which Ethiopia is a party. According to these laws (treaties and customary laws) head of state and other higher state officials like foreign ministers and other ministers, and diplomats are entitled to enjoy immunities from criminal prosecution by Ethiopian Court. However, neither the Constitution nor any other law provides the limits or exception to such immunities. Those international laws of immunities do not also clearly govern to which D. Akande and S. Shah, „Immunitiesof State Officials, International Crimes, and Foreign Domestic Courts‟ (2010) 21(4) EJIL 815; see also C. Antonio, When May Senior State Officials Be Tried for International Crimes Some comments on the Congo v Belgium Case (2002) 13(4) EJIL 853, 864-865. ibid 819; and see C. Antonio, note 183, 862-4. ibid 818. Ethiopia accessed to Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (adopted on 18 April 1961, entered into force on 24 April 1964) 500 U.N.T.S. 95 Hereinafter VCDR) on 22 Mar 1979. G. Y. Tessema, „Immunities and Privileges of UN Agencies in Ethiopia Problem and Possible Remedies (2018) 6 International Journal of Advanced Research 143. CC, Art. 4; which provides that no difference in treatment of criminals maybe made except as provided by this code, which are derived from immunities sanctioned by public international law and constitutional law Ethiopia is member to convention on diplomatic relation and convention on immunities and privileges of UN and its staff See also Proclamation No 618/2009, which ratified the African protocol on the immunities and privileges of AU and its staffs.
