Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: constitution

constitution

The Stagnation of Afghanistan’s State Institutions: Case studies of the Supreme Court, Senate, provincial councils and the constitutional oversight commission

Ali Yawar Adili • Rohullah Sorush • Sayed Asadullah Sadat •

This report looks at the legal framework, status and trajectory of four important state institutions, both elected and appointed: the Supreme Court, Senate, provincial councils and the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution (ICOIC). According to the Afghan constitution, these institutions should play significant roles in providing checks and balances, accountability, representation […]

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Why the Taleban Should Read the Afghan Constitution

Ghizaal Haress •

As talks between the US and the Taleban move forward, we are starting to see the contours and obstacles to peace in Afghanistan. One of the possible obstacles to reaching an agreement is the Taleban’s view that Afghanistan’s current constitution is unsuitable and unacceptable. Ghizaal Haress, a prominent Afghan lawyer and a member of the […]

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Cover of a collection of legal interpretations, comments and consultation published by the Constitutional Oversight Commission.

The Constitutional Oversight Commission in a Standoff with President Ghani: Defending their independence or covering up mistakes?

Ali Yawar Adili • Ehsan Qaane •

The Afghan government has found itself in a complicated legal tangle again. After the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution (hereafter, Constitutional Oversight Commission) dismissed its chair, the president ordered an evaluation of the Commission’s performance in a move that looks designed to curtail its independence. Although the legal basis for the […]

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Flash from the Past: Long Live Consensus – a look back at the 2003 Constitutional Loya Jirga

Thomas Ruttig •

It is ten years since Afghanistan got its new constitution. It had been debated over 22 days by the 502 delegates to a specially convened Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ). Hailed as one of the most progressive constitutions in the region, it was also called a “juggle of the Quran and democracy” (The New York Times). The […]

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A Lost Opportunity? Hindus and Sikhs do not get a reserved seat in parliament

Fabrizio Foschini •

On 14 December 2013, the Wolesi Jirga (WJ), the lower house of the Afghan parliament, rejected the presidential decree adding a reserved seat among its ranks for the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The debate showed a divided house, but the vote rewarded those pitted against this facilitation for the tiny minority. However, the tone and arguments used […]

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Tit for Tat – and Worse: The long history of enmity between parliament and government

Claudio Franco • Gran Hewad • Thomas Ruttig •

The relationship between the Afghan president and, by extension, his cabinet and Afghanistan’s parliament has frequently been turbulent over the past years. The latest example came yesterday (22 July 2013) with parliament’s voting out of office of the interior minister, Mujtaba Patang. Earlier, from April to July, conflict centred around the finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, […]

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