ConstitutionNet Updates: February 2018

ConstitutionNet.org

Dear Reader,

In the February newsletter, we share with you four original Voices from the Field and a number of updates on constitutional reform processes in different parts of the world.

In Tunisia, as the Constitution gains legitimacy, the delays in the establishment of the Constitutional Court, independent bodies and the organization of local elections, all attributable to political considerations, necessitate a shift in the mindset and modus operandi of the political class to advance the project of constitutional transformation. As Liberia’s president expresses support for changing the country’s citizenship laws, an opportunity is presented to reopen debates on constitutional reform broadly.

In India, the absence of a Uniform Civil Code has led to a subjugation of fundamental rights to personal law, which both disempowers women and perpetuates colonial legal frameworks. The Indian experience raises enduring issues of the constitutional recognition and regulation of personal law. The Gabonese constitutional reform process showed promising signs of public participation and institutional autonomy, although significant proposals were ignored and presidential powers were expanded rather than limited.

The remaining updates cover constitutional reform issues ranging from federalism to judicial review to the representation of women to presidential term limits spanning countries from New Zealand to Ecuador, Ukraine to Zimbabwe.

ConstitutionNet Analyses - Voices from the Field
  The fourth anniversary of the Tunisian Constitution: The unfinished transformation
by Nidhal Mekki
George Weah’s agenda for constitutional reform in Liberia: The incentives for prioritizing citizenship
by Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei
Triple Talaq: Personal Law and Colonial Shadows in Contemporary India
by Arundhati Katju
Reforming the Gabonese Constitution: An unprecedented, but limited, participatory process and an empowered presidency
by Patrice Moundounga Mouity and Télesphore Ondo
 
Want to contribute a ConstitutionNet Analysis from the field? Contact us!
What we are reading this month
  Op-ed: Changing the constitution of the Philippines may prove perilous
 
Op-ed: Libya’s Constitution is the Minimum Requirement for Elections
 
Op-ed: Nepal must increase women’s representation to meet constitutional principles
 
Op-ed: In New Zealand, unwritten constitution gets extra bark
 
 
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Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
North America
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