Such opinion was particularly important at a time when some neighboring African states were rapidly advancing under European colonial influence and Ethiopia was pressing its claims internationally for the incorporation of Eritrea, where an elected parliament and more modern administration had existed since 1952.

[4] While clearly "not a mirror image" of the U.S. Constitution, Edmond Keller notes it contained a number of ideas from that document, such as a separation of powers between three branches of government, and careful attention given to detailing the "Rights and Duties of the People", to which 28 articles were devoted.

[1] Despite the introduction of some ideas from the U.S. constitution, John Spencer, in his memoirs, lamented that the Crown Council forced the constitution's authors to stress the prerogatives of the crown, giving the emperor the right to rule by emergency decree, to appoint and dismiss ministers without input from the Ethiopian parliament, and to appoint members of the Senate, judges, and even the mayors of municipalities.

Bahru quotes the relevant section from Article 4 of the Constitution: "By virtue of His Imperial Blood, as well as by the anointing which he has received, the person of the Emperor is sacred, His dignity is inviolable and His power indisputable.

Keller believes its most significant new power was its budgetary function: parliament now had the responsibility of approving or rejecting all proposed budgets, including taxes and allocations.

[8] In John Turner's opinion, the absence of a census, the near total illiteracy of the population, and the domination of the countryside by the nobility meant that the majority of candidates who sought election in 1957 were in effect chosen by the elite.