The Liquidation of Pecuniary Effects of Bigamous Marriage in Ethiopia: A Critical Review of the Precedents of the Federal Supreme Court and Rule of Equity under the Oromia Regional Family Code

Abstract

In Ethiopia, the effects of the liquidation of assets on the dissolution of bigamous marriages are posing more of a threat to the exclusivity of a valid marriage than bigamy itself. However, the Oromia Family Code has conceived a device that curbs the practice, namely a rule of equity to govern the liquidation process. Nevertheless, the rule is seemingly neglected in judicial practice. This article examines the application of the rule in the liquidation of the pecuniary effects of a bigamous marriage. To this end, the article critically analyses the interplay between the rule of equity under the Oromia Family Code and the precedents of the Federal Supreme Court in the liquidation. It concludes that the inconsistent precedential practice of the Federal Supreme Court has marginalized the application of the rule of equity under the Code. Thus, the existing precedents should be revisited in future cases to take into account the rule of equity for cases originating from the region. In so doing, the-much-neglected and disowned rule of equity must be revisited to reshape the status quo.