Family
A 2000 federal family code, with regional codes and recognised religious courts
The Revised Family Code 2000 raised the marriage age to 18 for both sexes, abolished the husband's status as head of the family and introduced judicial divorce. Sharia courts have jurisdiction over Muslim personal status where both parties consent.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Family law is a regional competence; the federal code applies in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa and served as the model most regions adopted.
Governing law
- Revised Family Code Proclamation 213/2000
- Federal Courts of Sharia Consolidation Proclamation 188/1999
- Regional family codesOromia, Amhara, Tigray, SNNPR and others
In practice
The 2000 revision was a substantial break from the 1960 Civil Code's family provisions: equal minimum marriage age, removal of the marital-power doctrine, equal division of common property and divorce by court rather than by family arbitrators. Because family law is devolved, the federal code technically governs only the two chartered cities, and the practical position in any given matter depends on the regional code — most track the federal text closely, but not identically. Sharia courts operate with real jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, maintenance and succession for Muslims, and their competence rests on the consent of both parties, so the same dispute can go to a first-instance civil court or a Sharia court depending on election. Customary marriage remains widespread and is recognised, which means that establishing whether a marriage exists is frequently an evidentiary question rather than a documentary one.