Issue 6, November 2013

Dear Reader,

You are receiving this email because of your interest in constitutional reform issues and/or membership of International IDEA’s Constitution building thematic website ConstitutionNet.Org. It provides you with an update on all new content – news, analyses, events, new resources, etc. - created within the network over the last month.

To access the content, click on any of the links below or visit www.ConstitutionNet.Org

Voices from the field: Constitutional reforms in Vietnam and the making of Nepal’s second CA

Vietnam’s National Parliament is voting on the country’s new Constitution this Thursday 28 November but what changes can Vietnamese expect? Is the government walking the talk? Full analysis by Bui Ngoc Son of the Vietnam National University

Nepalese went to the polls this week to elect a new Constituent Assembly. Dr.Krishna Hachhethu of Tribhuvan University in Nepal reflects on some of the key issues and lead contenders in the elections as well as possible scenario outcomes and impact on the country’s protracted search for a constitution. Full article

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In the media this month

Analyses

More analyses

News

More news

Questions for Experts

This is a new feature allowing members of the community and newsletter recipients to provide expert answers to substantive questions on constitution building issues being raised by readers. Answers will be reviewed, consolidated and made available online with attribution. The following are questions that came in for this month:

How have Constitutions in Latin America addressed women's rights? How were provisions related to these rights drafted and what has been their impact? Are they any recommendable resources on the subject written in English? (Question posed by representatives of women's groups in Egypt) Click here to send your answer or email

We are in the midst of refining our Draft Constitution and are struggling to articulate rights for small producers which we would like to include or mean peasants, farmers, fisherfolks, small miners, livestock breeders and those who make their living off the land. The challenge is in how to make their rights/interests justiciable and not just a matter of directive principles. Are they any examples of jurisdictions that have addressed this in their Constitutions? How can a provision covering such issues be formulated such that not just the rights of workers are visible but also that of the vast segment of the population who are not on pay roll but have restrictive consitions imposed on how they use the produce from their sweat and labour? (Question posed by civil society representative and human rights activist in Tanzania). Click here to send your answer or email