Author: Tom Ginsburg
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Libya’s Constitution: Take it Slow
[From the Chicago Tribune] Now that Moammar Gadhafi has fallen, Libya’s victorious revolutionaries should heed Iraq’s missteps as they begin the critical task of political reconstruction, including Iraq’s hurried 2005 constitution-making process. There are as many ways to write a constitution as there are spellings of Gadhafi’s name, and some processes can exacerbate conflict rather…
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Repost
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Kabul Update: Constitutional Confusion Continues
Along with its myriad other problems, Afghanistan finds itself in a continuing state of constitutional confusion as to what body has the authority to interpret the constitution. Given the total stalemate between President Karzai and the parliament, this is a grave state of affairs that threatens to exacerbate the political gridlock.
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Libya update
The document that I commented on last week was never put into force; instead, the Transitional National Council issued a revised Transitional Constitutional Declaration. A thoughtful analysis by Zaid Al-Ali is here. Fortunately, the cramped timetable offered in the previous draft has been extended.
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Thoughts on the Draft Transitional Constitution for Libya
As the tides shift in Libya, the rebels have released a draft constitution for the transitional period. It calls for a democratic political regime (Art. 4), accession to human rights instruments (Art. 7—Libya is already a member of all the core international instruments) and the rule of law (Arts.
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What country was this anyway? Suit to disqualify president of Zambia from running
In the constitutional non-sequiter department: Zambia is gearing up for a presidential election, and incumbent Rupiah Banda, seeking a second elected term, has just been hit with a lawsuit seeking to disqualify him from running. The Zambian Constitution, Art. 34, provides for the qualifications for the presidency.
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The Wisdom of Crowds: Iceland citizen’s commission submits draft
Iceland’s Constitutional Council, composed of 25 ordinary citizens publicly elected by their peers, has submitted its draft constitution he to the Althingi, the country’s parliament. The Council had posted the draft constitution on the net in April, and worked through many re-drafts in response to 3600 written comments from the public.
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Japan update: Kimigayo lawsuits fail once again
The Tokyo District Court rejected an attempt by Tokyo schoolteachers to nullify the punishments they received for refusing to participate in ceremonies involving the national anthem. This is consistent with the earlier Suphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrme Court decisions we noted here as well a more recent decision by the Supreme Court in July that rejected similar appeals from…
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Japan update: Kimigayo lawsuits fail again
The Tokyo District Court rejected an attempt by Tokyo schoolteachers to nullify the punishments they received for refusing to participate in ceremonies involving the national anthem. This is consistent with the earlier Suphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrme Court decisions we noted here as well a more recent decision by the Supreme Court in July that rejected similar appeals from…