Tag: constitution-making
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Time and Sequence in Changes of Constitutional Regimes
—Andrew Arato, The New School for Social Research Introduction The concept of the constituent power emerged in the revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries. Many new constitutions since then were made through variety of non-revolutionary processes. Yet, the normative link between democratic forms of constitution making and revolution, deeply embedded in the notion of…
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Tunisia’s New Constitution: Progress and Challenges to Come
–Zaid Al-Ali (Senior Advisor, International IDEA) and Donia Ben Romdhane (Senior Advisor, International IDEA) [Cross-posted from Open Democracy] In spite of a number of serious challenges, the Tunisian Constituent Assembly – under the people’s ever watchful eye – successfully negotiated a new and modern constitution.
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The Constituent Dilemma in Latin America
–Gabriel L. Negretto, Associate Professor, Division of Political Studies, CIDE Since the great revolutions of the late eighteenth century, the central principle of democratic constitutionalism has been that the people, as the supreme authority in a polity, is the only legitimate author of constitutions.
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Egypt’s new constitutional declaration: Back to square one?
–Zaid Al-Ali, International IDEA(cross-posted from www.foreignpolicy.com) On July 8, Adli Mansour, Egypt’s new interim president who until recently was a member of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court, issued yet another “constitutional declaration.” This comes after a year of failed leadership by former President Mohamed Morsi, the historic June 30 demonstrations, the intervention by the military,…
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Should the Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments Doctrine be Part of the Canon?
—David Landau, Florida State University College of Law The concept of substantively unconstitutional constitutional amendments, for example in the Indian “basic structure” doctrine, presents one of the strangest puzzles in comparative constitutional law. It raises obvious and substantial problems from the standpoint of democratic theory, raising a kind of ultimate counter-majoritarian difficulty.
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The Politics of Tunisia’s Final Draft Constitution
–Duncan Pickard, Democracy Reporting International and Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council [cross-posted from MENASource, a project of the Rafik Hariri Center] Tunisia’s constitution-drafting process has reached another milestone: the committee coordinating the drafting of the country’s post-authoritarian constitution presented its third and final draft to the National Constituent Assembly on April…
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Egypt’s Constitution: The Religious Pot
–Mohamed Abdelaal, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Alexandria University School of Law Immediately after the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, which ended thirty years of repression and dictatorship under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians faced the serious challenge of electing a new president and building a new Egypt.
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Bachelet Appoints Group to Study New Constitution for Chile
—Claudia Heiss, Instituto de Asuntos Publicos, Universidad de Chile On April 23rd former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010), the front-runner candidate for the November presidential election, announced a commission to study a new constitution. The group is composed of nine lawyers (including two women) some of whom contributed to the 2005 reform signed by…
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Ireland’s Constitutional Convention Considers Same-Sex Marriage: Part II
—Eoin Carolan, University College Dublin Ireland’s Constitutional Convention has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal to amend the Irish Constitution to allow for civil marriage for same-sex couples. 79 Convention members favoured the proposal with 19 against and 1 expressing no opinion.