Thailand’s Constitutional Court has issued a long-awaited decision disbanding the ruling party (the PPP). The decision had been widely anticipated, given the apparent violations of electoral law by the PPP. It assumed greater importance, however, because of the crisis perpetuated by anti-government protestors. With tacit support from the police, military and monarchy, they had occupied
Nepal officially starts drafting
Nepal has been engaged in an extended drafting process for over two years, during which time political turmoil and the ending of the monarchy has shifted the landscape significantly. This week the constituent drafting assembly, elected in May, officially launched the process of drafting a permanent constitution, with a deadline of May 2008. A key
Russian amendments to extend term?
A frequent source of constitutional death or amendment is executive term limits. After serving two terms, former President Putin successfully re-engineered the Russian Constitution to facilitate his election as Prime Minister, allowing him to remain in office so long as he has the support of parliament (presumably a very long time.) Recently, Putin’s hand-picked successor
Ecuador’s Constitution takes effect
Ecuador’s new constitution was confirmed last week and took effect yesterday. Following the leftward trend in Latin America, the document guarantees rights to clean water, pensions and health care, while also allowing President Rafael Correa to serve another term potentially. Elections will be held in February. Why is it that Correa was able to get
Iraq’s Constitutional Review
For almost two years Iraq’s Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has been working on a package of constitutional amendments to submit to the Council of Representatives (CoR) and then for popular referendum. This tumultuous process has witnessed highs (the May 23, 2007 interim report that included several substantive amendments that would have fundamentally altered the constitutional
Samak steps down
In the end, Thailand’s governing coalition decided not to renominate Prime Minister Samak after he was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. Samak has resigned from politics, and maneuvering begins to replace him. Details from the Bangkok Post are here.
Thai Prime Minister out, crisis likely to continue
The Constitutional Court indeed did find that Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak had to step down–but his party announced they would re-nominate him for the very same post! Stay tuned for more details.
Thailand’s constitutional crisis may be resolved by–a cooking show?
Since its adoption in late 2007, the new post-coup Thai constitution has been caught up in a series of disputes before the courts and indepedent electoral commission about the conduct of the governing party, which is associated with the deposed (now exiled) Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Demonstrations and counterdemonstrations continue on the streets of Bangkok.
17 years and now…this?
The new Burmese constitutions is extraordinary on many levels. First, is the waiting-for-Godot quality of the process that produced it. It took about seventeen years from initiative to ratification to get the document out the door. That is far and away a record. True, other countries kick around the possibility of a new charter sometimes
Major French Constitutional Reform
A major package of constitutional amendments backed by President Sarkozy passed by a single vote last week in the constitutional commission, a special joint session of deputies and senators. The bill sets a two-term limit for presidents, gives parliament a veto over some presidential appointments, and ends government control over parliament’s committee system. Public debate
