Category: Tom Ginsburg
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Constitutional regulation of the police
Therese Sjöström of International IDEA writes with a query about constitutional provisions related to the police. This is not a subject on which there has been much attention, and as yet we have no general report on the police on our site.
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New Report on Ombudsman
We have recently posted a new report on constitutional provisions on the Ombudsman. The ombudsman is originally a Scandinavian institution, dating at least back to Sweden’s 1809 constitutional settlement. But ombudsmen have become popular in many regions of the world, particularly with the spread of human rights movement in the postwar era.
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Fiji’s Constitution “Repealed”
Fiji’s unstable constitutional bargain unraveled again last week as President Ratu Josefa Iloilo repealed the country’s constitution and reappointed the military chief as interim prime minister. The move followed a decision by the Court of Appeal, the country’s highest court, to overturn a lower court decision rejecting a challenge to the government’s legality.
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Afghan Constitutional Crisis Avoided….
Over the weekend, it was reported that Afghanistan’s Supreme Court ruled that President Karzai can remain in office through the elections now scheduled for August, notwithstanding the explicit provision in Article 61 of the 2004 Constitution that the presidential term will end this May 22 .
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Cambodia and Parliamentary Immunity
A constitutional dispute may be brewing in Cambodia, as long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy is losing his parliamentary immunity at the request of the Ministry of Justice. During the 2008 election campaign, Sam made remarks about the ruling Cambodia Peoples Party (CPP) that were deemed to constitute defamation.
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Chavez goes to the polls
Hugo Chavez goes to the polls today in his second bid to amend the Venezuelan Constitution to eliminate presidential term limits. Should he lose, he has vowed to leave office when his current term ends in 2012; should he win, he hopes to rule for life.
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Bolivia votes on constitutional amendments
“Bolivia is being refounded” said President Evo Morales, as his country went to the polls today to vote on proposed constitutional amendments that would extend his term. The amendments, which are expected to pass by a solid margin, are hardly exceptional in Bolivia (or in Latin America), where constitutions have been frequently amended or replaced.
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Thailand’s Court resolves crisis–for now
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.
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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.
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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.)