Legesse Mengie

Legesse Mengie

Higher Degree by Research Candidate

Adelaide Law School

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Legesse is a Comparative Constitutional Law and Public International Law researcher. His research interests include constitution-making processes, constitutional identity, (non-)judicial review, federalism, public international law and the rule of law. He has published widely on these areas, taught courses at different universities in Ethiopia and abroad, and managed projects and services. Most recently, Legesse held a visiting researcher position at the University of Oxford (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies). This research visit was part of his doctoral study at the University of Adelaide, Australia, under the supervision of Dr. Anna Olijnyk and Associate Professor Laura Grenfell. His current research concerns the role of constitutional design in the realisation of the rule of law in multicultural and conflict-affected societies. Prior to joining the University of Adelaide, he was an Assistant Professor at Jimma University (2016-2018) and Ethiopian Civil Service University (2018-2020) and taught courses at Ambo University, Haramaya University and Hawassa University as a visiting professor. He was also vice director of Jimma University Legal Aid Centre and editor of Jimma University Law Journal. Legesse has held various prestigious scholarships including Adelaide Scholarship International, Netherlands Government Scholarship, Open Society Foundation London Civil Society Scholar Award, Central European University Scholarship and UN International Law Fellowship. He holds LLB (Haramaya University), LLM in Comparative Constitutional Law (Central European University) and LLM in International and European Public Law (Erasmus University). He is a member of national, regional and international law societies including Ethiopian Lawyers Association, the African Network of Constitutional Lawyers, IACL-International Association of Constitutional Law and ICON-S (International Society of Public Law).

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2020 - ongoing Higher Degree by Research Student (PhD, Law) University of Adelaide
    2018 - 2020 Assistant Professor in Law Ethiopian Civil Service University
    2016 - 2018 Assistant Professor in Law Jimma University

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2015 - 2016 Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands LLM, International Law
    2009 - 2010 Central European University Hungary LLM, Comparative Constitutional Law
    2004 - 2008 Haramaya University Ethiopia LLB

  • Research Interests
    Comparative Law Constitutional Law International Law Law and Society Legal Institutions

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2023 Mengie, L. (2023). The House of Federation of Ethiopia: Unfit for Federalism. Review of Constitutional Studies, 27(2), 129-160.
    2021 Mengie, L. T. (2021). COVID-19 and elections in Ethiopia: exploring constitutional interpretation by the House of the Federation as an exit strategy. Law, Democracy and Development, 25.
    DOI
    2019 Mengie, L. T. (2019). The Global Financial Regulatory System and the Rule of Law: An Appraisal of the Regulatory Process under Basel III. Law, Democracy & Development, 23.
    2017 Mengie, L. T. (2017). Restrictions on Rural Land Transaction in Ethiopia: The Case of the Regional States of Amhara, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. Mekelle University Law Journal, 5.
    2016 Mengie, L. T. (2016). Market Integration through WTO Law and Questions of Democracy: The Case of Ethiopia’s Accession to the WTO. Global Trade and Customs Journal, Vol. 11(3).
    2016 Mengie, L. T. (2016). Global Trade Governance: WTO Accountability to Local Stakeholders. Global Trade and Customs Journal, 11(7).
    2016 Mengie, L. T. (2016). Urban Land Acquisition and Social Justice in Ethiopia. Haramaya Law Review, 4(1).
    2015 Mengie, L. T. (2015). ETHNIC FEDERALISM AND CONFLICT IN ETHIOPIA: WHAT LESSONS CAN OTHER JURISDICTIONS DRAW?. African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 23(3), 462-475.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS7
    2014 Mengie, L. T. (2014). The Ethiopian Urban Land Lease Holding Law: Tenure Security and Property Rights. Jimma University Journal of Law, Vol.6.
    2011 Mengie, L. T. (2011). Equal and Effective Protection for Ethiopian Urban Indigents: Constitutionality of the Existing Urban Land Tenure System and Access to Land. Jimma University Journal of Law, Vol. 3.
    - Mengie, L. T. (n.d.). Federalism as an Instrument for Unity and the Protection of Minorities: A Comparative Overview: Ethiopia, India and the US. Mizan Law Review, 10(2), 265.
    DOI

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2023 Mengie, L. (2023). Access to Constitutional Justice: The Case of Non-Judicial Constitutional Review. In Comparative Constitutional Law. Sydney.
    2022 Mengie, L. T. (2022). The House of Federation of Ethiopia: Political and Adjudicative Roles in the Same Hands. In Constitutional Transformations. World Congress of Constitutional Law, Johannesburg.
    2022 Mengie, L. T. (2022). Open Access to Constitutional Justice: Institutional Design as an Impediment. In Access to Justice. Oxford.
    2021 Mengie, L. (2021). COVID-19, Elections and Constitutional Review in Ethiopia. In The Future of Public Law. Online.

Civil Society Scholar Award (Open Society Foundation London) 2022   

Adelaide Scholarship International 2020

UN Regional Courses in International Law Fellowship 2017 

Netherlands Masters Fellowship 2015 

Central European University Scholarship 2009

University of South Australia 

Courses taught: Constitutional Law, Law Government and Citizenship 

University of Adelaide

Courses taught: Australian Constitutional Law 

Jimma University 

Courses taught: Constitutional Law, Federalism, International Trade Law, International Investment Law

Ethiopian Civil Service University 

Courses taught: Comparative Constitutional Law, Subnational Constitutions and Local Government

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