The promise of Iraq's constitution
Bangkok Post Thursday 06 October 2005 - The promise of Iraq's constitution: "The constitutional process now under way in Iraq represents a hopeful milestone for all Iraqis. After decades of successively imposed constitutions, an elected assembly has overseen the process of drafting a new permanent constitution, and the draft text will be voted on by ordinary Iraqis on October 15. Much of the current talk about the draft's various provisions thus misses the point. Regardless of whether the referendum succeeds or fails, and regardless of the details of the constitutional text, what is most important is the establishment of constitutional processes and institutions in Iraq, before and after the referendum.
Concerning the pre-referendum phase, the National Assembly largely succeeded in this task. Although Iraq's interim constitution gave the Assembly exclusive control over the drafting process, the Assembly wisely reached out beyond its membership in creating a constitutional drafting committee.
Iraqi leaders were well aware of the decreased participation in the election by a significant portion of Iraq's multi-ethnic and multi-confessional mosaic, particularly the Sunni community. Accordingly, they sought out those who were under-represented in the Assembly, but whose sense of participation in and ownership of the process was essential, not merely to the constitutional exercise, but to binding the nation's wounds. This was no mere gesture.
Reaching out was an important component of establishing the rule of law, and it also sent a message that Iraq had truly turned a corner -- that no single party sought to dominate Iraq. This was an important signal that those elected to the National Assembly understood that democracy does not mean merely the will of the majority.
Instead, all Iraqis were allowed to participate in the process, and, though consensus was not ultimately reached, that, too, was a part of the democratisation process. In the end, Iraq's voters will decide whether this is a constitution under which they wish to be governed for the foreseeable future. Those who chose not to participate in last January's elections will most certainly do so now, both in the referendum and in the upcoming elections to a new Assembly in December.
A second important feature of the drafting process was the extent to which the National Assembly complied with the requirements of Iraq's interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL). At the time of the transfer of authority in June of 2004, many pundits predicted that an elected National Assembly would ignore an interim constitution drafted by an unelected Governing Council and promulgated by an occupying authority. Yet that did not happen.
The TAL set a rigorous schedule for the Assembly to complete an initial constitutional draft, and the Assembly essentially abided by those limits. The deadline extension that it passed was in keeping with both the spirit and the letter of the TAL. At long last, it can be said that an Iraqi legislature understood that it was constrained by constitutional principles and the rule of law."
Concerning the pre-referendum phase, the National Assembly largely succeeded in this task. Although Iraq's interim constitution gave the Assembly exclusive control over the drafting process, the Assembly wisely reached out beyond its membership in creating a constitutional drafting committee.
Iraqi leaders were well aware of the decreased participation in the election by a significant portion of Iraq's multi-ethnic and multi-confessional mosaic, particularly the Sunni community. Accordingly, they sought out those who were under-represented in the Assembly, but whose sense of participation in and ownership of the process was essential, not merely to the constitutional exercise, but to binding the nation's wounds. This was no mere gesture.
Reaching out was an important component of establishing the rule of law, and it also sent a message that Iraq had truly turned a corner -- that no single party sought to dominate Iraq. This was an important signal that those elected to the National Assembly understood that democracy does not mean merely the will of the majority.
Instead, all Iraqis were allowed to participate in the process, and, though consensus was not ultimately reached, that, too, was a part of the democratisation process. In the end, Iraq's voters will decide whether this is a constitution under which they wish to be governed for the foreseeable future. Those who chose not to participate in last January's elections will most certainly do so now, both in the referendum and in the upcoming elections to a new Assembly in December.
A second important feature of the drafting process was the extent to which the National Assembly complied with the requirements of Iraq's interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL). At the time of the transfer of authority in June of 2004, many pundits predicted that an elected National Assembly would ignore an interim constitution drafted by an unelected Governing Council and promulgated by an occupying authority. Yet that did not happen.
The TAL set a rigorous schedule for the Assembly to complete an initial constitutional draft, and the Assembly essentially abided by those limits. The deadline extension that it passed was in keeping with both the spirit and the letter of the TAL. At long last, it can be said that an Iraqi legislature understood that it was constrained by constitutional principles and the rule of law."
posted by Ben | 
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