ConstitutionNet Updates: March 2018

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Dear Reader,

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

In the Philippines, the diffusing of the over-concentration of economic and political power in the nation’s capital region and in the person of the president will require not only a transition to a federal system, but also a reconfiguration of the powers of the president. In Chile, the swearing in of a president opposed to the core constitutional reforms appeared to have doomed the ‘constitutional moment’. Nevertheless, while the constituent process appears stuck in the formal political institutions, a coalescing of opposition groups may save the moment.

The success of judicial reforms in Serbia will require extensive public engagement and a reformulation of the current proposed amendments, taking into account the views of the Venice Commission and European integration standards. In Ecuador, several constitutional amendments that boost horizontal accountability and democracy after ten years of erosion have been approved. However, the relative ease with which the executive was able to propose and pass the reforms suggests that more constitutional modifications are likely in the future – including the possibility of rolling back these new reforms.

The remaining updates cover reforms around the world from South Africa to Russia and South Korea to Canada.

ConstitutionNet Analyses - Voices from the Field
  ‘Imperial Manila’ is a constitutional design: Towards configuring executive authority in a federal system
by Michael Henry LI. Yusingco
All things must pass? The state of the Chilean constitutional moment
by Alberto Coddou Mc Manusi
Reforming Serbia’s Constitution: Enhancing judicial accountability at the expense of independence?
by Milan Antonijevic
Constitutional Change in Ecuador: Improving Democratic Accountability – and Constraining a Rival
by John Polga-Hecimovich
 
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What we are reading this month
  Op-ed: Debate Over Land Reform in South Africa’s Constitution
 
Op-ed: In Turkey, threshold distinction damages the constitution’s principle of equality
 
Op-ed: Amending the Japanese Constitution for free education
 
Op-ed: Is a New Tanzanian Constitution Feasible Before 2020 Polls?
 
 
Africa
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
North America
West Asia – North Africa
More >

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