It has been reported that the Supreme Court of Tigray has overruled the regulation approved by the Tigray Regional Interim Administration, which decided to prevent Tigray civil servants from filing lawsuits related to salary arrears.

According to the announcement, the Supreme Court of Tigray region rejected Regulation 4/2016, which prohibits any lawsuits against the arrears issued by the interim administration cabinet, and ordered the lawsuit to continue, Dmtsi Weyane Television reported.

The Tigray Supreme Court gave its verdict on the first-level objection filed by the Tigray Teachers’ Association regarding the 17-month salary arrears. Therefore, it was decided to proceed with the case related to the arrears of payment filed by the Tigray Teachers’ Association.

The first defendant in the lawsuit is the Regional Education Office, the second defendant is the Tigray Finance Office, the third defendant is the Tigray Regional Interim Administration, and the fourth defendant is the Ministry of Finance. Although the fourth defendant did not appear at the hearing, the Supreme Court decided that the case should be heard in the absence of the defendant, and it was stated that the trial between the plaintiff and the defendant continued.

It is remembered that the Tigray Regional interim administration cabinet decided to suspend the case related to salary arrears from November 4, 2020, to November 2022.

The court stated that dropping the case and asking for payment are two contradictory ideas because the constitution states that the basic human and democratic rights of citizens must be interpreted according to international laws. It explained that if any person is deprived of the rights given by the constitution or other laws, they have the right to seek justice from competent national bodies.

According to the report, the Supreme Court of Tigray has set a date for March 12, 2025, to write a legal order for the plaintiff to present the witnesses based on the charges filed on January 22.