Category: hp
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Senegal: will the Arab Spring travel South?
President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal has been talking about modifying the Constitution to extend his term in office, joining a long series of African “democrats” who came in as reformers but found presidential trappings to be quite comfortable. Wade, who was a longtime opposition leader, was originally elected to a seven year term, renewable once,…
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A reason to draft constitutions carefully?
On the lighter side of the news: according to this report, owing to a slight omission in the drafting of North Dakota’s constitution (namely, the omission of a requirement that state officials take an oath of office), it is questionable whether North Dakota is legally a state.
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Constitutional Court confirmation politics in Taiwan and Korea
– Dennis Tang instead of female judge who had questioned evidence re: eight-year-old’s consent in rape case– Cho Yong, Lawyers for Democratic Change, false address– retirement of Justice Cho Dae-Hyen, in background
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Thailand’s Constitutional Court to consider legality of ruling party
Following last week’s general elections in Thailand, the losing Democrat Party has asked Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dissolve the winning Pheu Thai party. Thailand’s Constitutional Court, like a number of other specialized constitutional courts (e.g., Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey), has the constitutional power and responsibility to rule upon the lawfulness of political parties (per…
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Morocco Constitution Approved
Morocco’s new Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a referndum on Friday, followed by celebrations. As such, the Arab Spring (now Summer?) has its first (mostly) bloodless transition, from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. Among other things, the new document recognizes Tamazight (the original language of pre-Arab North Africa) as an official language,…
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Supreme Court of Japan rejects national anthem claims
In a series of cases over this past month, each of the three benches of Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional for school principals to order teachers to stand and sing the national anthem (the Kimigayo) at school ceremonies.
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New Hungary Constitution: New Opinions
Our contributor Andrew Arato, along with other leading academics, submitted an amicus brief to the Venice Commission concerning the new Constitution of Hungary. It is in many ways a devastating critique of the new document on both substantive and procedural grounds.
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Morocco Quiety Reforms Constitution
Without the fanfare (or violence) of Egypt and Tunisia, it seems the Arab Spring is leading to real reform in Morocco. A good summary of the constitutional changes proposed by the King. To be put to national referendum July 1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/a-king-a-speech-and-a-new-constitution-for-morocco/2011/03/29/AGSximcH_blog.html
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South African Threats to Freedom of Expression
South African Professor of Law Pierre de Vos has an excellent blog posting on a frightening piece of legislation there seeking to ensure many South African government-connected institutions classify or prevent the release of documents that have even the most tangential relationship to national security.
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Electoral Politics and Turkey’s New Constitution
On Sunday, June 12, 2011, Turkish voters headed to the ballot boxes to cast their votes in parliamentary elections. According to preliminary results, the incumbent Islamist-leaning Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) (Justice and Development Party) comfortably won a third consecutive term in office, obtaining 49.9% of the popular vote and 326 of the 550 seats…