A Practical Guide to Constitution Building

About the Handbook

A Practical Guide to Constitution Building contains seven stand-alone chapters, which may be ordered separately or as a collection in one box.

A Practical Guide to Constitution Building

Download

Full PDF | Individual chapters

Order printed copy

Order printed copies online free of charge from www.idea.int
Published: 2011-12-15
Language: English
Pages: 346
ISBN: 978-91-86565-38-1
Binding: Paperback
Lead editors: Markus Böckenförde, Nora Hedling, Winluck Wahiu

Background Materials

Click here to read the Handbook Background Research

The content of a constitution provides a blueprint for the operation of a state, guarantees rights and outlines mechanisms for their enforcement, as well as shapes the future of a nation. Constitutions that emerge after conflict are often a result of negotiated settlements and competition between many forces including identity-based groups, former parties to conflict, political and military actors and international actors.

A Practical Guide to Constitution Building provides an essential foundation for understanding constitutions and constitution building. Full of world examples of ground-breaking agreements and innovative provisions adopted during processes of constitutional change, the Guide offers a wide range of examples of how constitutions develop and how their development can establish and entrench democratic values. Beyond comparative examples, the Guide contains in-depth analysis of key components of constitutions and the forces of change that shape them.

The Guide analyzes the adoption of the substantive elements of a new constitution by looking at forces for the aggregation or dissemination of governmental power, and forces for greater legalization or politicization of governmental power, and examining how these forces influence the content of the constitution. It urges practitioners to look carefully at the forces at play within their individual contexts in order to better understand constitutional dynamics and play a role in shaping a constitution that will put into place a functioning democratic government and foster lasting peace.

The First Chapter "Introduction" is available also in Arabic


[This Guide] supplies information that enriches initial discussions on constitutional design options and will prove extremely useful as an introduction to the understanding of the complex area of constitution building. … The world may soon witness a regional wave of democratic constitution building as a result of the current dynamics in the Arab world. Thus, this Guide is published at a timely moment.

Cassam Uteem, Former President of Mauritius

Chapters

An Introduction

An Introduction

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 76
ISBN: 978-91-86565-28-2

Principles and Cross-cutting Themes

Principles and Cross-cutting Themes

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 72
ISBN: 978-91-86565-29-9

Building a Culture of Human Rights

Building a Culture of Human Rights

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 72
ISBN: 978-91-86565-30-5

The Design of the Executive Branch

The Design of the Executive Branch

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 56
ISBN: 978-91-86565-31-2

The Design of the Legislature

The Design of the Legislature

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 68
ISBN: 978-91-86565-32-9

The Design of the Judicial Branch

The Design of the Judicial Branch

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 84
ISBN: 978-91-86565-33-6

Decentralized Forms of Government

Decentralized Forms of Government

Download free of charge

PDF
Published: 2011-11-21 Language: English Pages: 60
ISBN: 978-91-86565-34-3

Order Printed Copy

Order printed copies online free of charge from www.idea.int