Author: Tom Ginsburg
-
Link to Egypt discussion
Nathan Brown and Kristen Stilt have a nice analysis of the current situation in Egypt, with a critique of the amendment process, here. –TG
-
Arato on Constitution Making in Hungary and the 4/5 Rule
The worst thing about the current constitution making process in Hungary led by the FIDESZ government is the process itself: under an opposition boycott, and involving an absurd process of popular consultation through sketchy and deficient mail in citizen questionnaires, it lacks all genuine aspects of participation and inclusion.
-
Petition on Hungary
Other than the fact that it would be the first national constitution drafted on an I-pad, Hungary’s proposed new constitution is engendering serious concern. Although the Orban government is associated with the political right, voices have been raised across the political spectrum, including the Wall Street Journal.
-
Cairo Update: After the referendum, a new turn in constitutional developments
Just a few days before the constitutional amendment referendum held in Egypt on March 19, the current ruling authority, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), announced that the results of the referendum, positive or negative, would be followed directly by a “constitutional declaration.”
-
Hungary’s proto-authoritarian new Constitution
Hungary is about to give itself a new constitution: 21 years after the peaceful transition from communism to democracy the nationalist-conservative government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, by virtue of its 2/3-majority in parliament, has tried to put the country on a entirely new constitutional course, with exceptional haste: Last week a draft for a…
-
From Cairo: Kristen Stilt on Assessing Tahrir’s First Ballot Box
[cross-posted from Foreignpolicy.com] The need to establish stability during a period of great uncertainty was a central issue in Egypt’s constitutional amendment referendum held on March 19. Advocates of a “yes” vote championed an immediate path to political, economic, and social stability through amendments to the most offensive provisions of the constitution, which would be…
-
Transition for a Constitution in Exile
In light of the momentous events in the Middle East, some may have missed an important story out of India: The Dalai Lama has announced his intention to retire and has asked for amendments to Tibet’s “Constitution” to allow him to do so.
-
Dispatch from Cairo: What the Egyptian Constitutional Amendment Referendum is Really About
Many Egyptians are intensely debating the pros and cons of the constitutional amendment referendum taking place here in Egypt on Saturday, March 19, but in these discussions, what would seem to be the most obvious topic is almost completely missing: the content of the amendments themselves.
-
New report on Judicial Terms
The Reports section of this website has a new report on the length of judicial terms for highest courts. About 10% of national constitutions provide for an unspecified life term for supreme court justices; another 5% provide for a life term subject to a specified retirement age.
-
Kenya: Constitution passes first test
In what is the first real test of Kenya’s new Constitution, the President has backed down by withdrawing nominees appointed inconsistently with the Constitution to fill four significant public positions: Chief Justice, Attorney General, Deputy Public Prosecutor and Controller of the Budget.