Constituent Assembly presents first draft of constitution

On October 10, the first draft of the new constitution for Egypt was made public by the Constituent Assembly for debate. Members of the Assembly have said they expect to finish writing as early as November. The new constitution then will have to be put to a public referendum within 30 days. Find the text in Arabic and comment on it here.

Constituent Assembly finalizes first draft of Constitution

On August 8, the first full draft of the new constitution for Tunisia was made public. Discuss it in our Constitutional e-Forum. Find the text of the draft in Arabic, English and French here.

President issues "Constitutional Declaration"

On August 12, Egyptian President Morsi issued a "Constitutional Declaration" essentially nullifying SCAF's amendment of June 18, 2012, and providing himself with full executive and legislative powers. According to the text, the President is also able to institute a new Constituent Assembly in case it "is prevented from doing its duties". The legality of the document is disputed.

Constituent Assembly adopts Provisional Constitution

On August 1, the Somali Constituent Assembly adopted a Provisional Constitution following the roadmap to end the transitional period. The document still contains "earmarks" that will be discussed by the future Parliament before the national referendum will determine the fate of the constitution. After more than eight years in the making, 825 Somali leaders approved the document with 621 for, 13 against and 11 abstentions.

Interview with Ahmed Karaoud on key reforms for real change

Outgoing Amnesty MENA Director Ahmed Karaoud joins Right to Nonviolence (RN) Regional Leadership Network as expert correspondent for Tunisia. Within the framework of supporting RN's mission, he will provide constitutional information and analysis on the developments in the country and will thereby further increase MECF's capabilities. In this interview he already shares his expert view on essential reforms.

Discussion on future of Constituent Assembly

On the occasion of an expected administrative court decision on the Constituent Assembly on July 17, Professor Chibli Mallat, Right to Nonviolence Chairman, and Tobias Peyerl, Director of the Middle East Constitutional Forum, discuss the current legal disputes in Egypt and the prospects of the Constituent Assembly. Find out more about recent developments in Egypt here.

President reinstates formerly dissolved Parliament

Egyptian President Morsi issued Decree 11/2012 and thereby strives to reinstate Parliament on July 8. The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) had previously declared the Parliament to be unconstitutional on June 14 and SCAF dissolved it the following day. Ahram Online published MECF's comment to and professional translation of the decree. The SCC reaffirmed that its decisions are "final and binding."

  Court postpones crucial decisions

The Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court delayed four decisions on June 26. The first relates to an appeal to the dissolution of Parliament by SCAF based on a ruling of the Constitutional Court: postponed to July 7. The second concerns the legality of the membership of the Constituent Assembly: delayed to September 1; the third decision the constitutionality of the Shura Council - rescheduled to July 10 as the last judgement relating to the SCAF amendment of the 2011 Constitutional Declaration.

Leaders end transition and agree on roadmap towards new constitution

The main political stakeholders signed a joint communiqué to end the transitional period in Somalia on June 22. They also agreed on the steps towards a new constitution, which will be handled by the new National Constituent Assembly that is mandated to conclude its work on July 20. Find the communiqué and other relevant documents here.

Constitutional Court reinstates previous Parliament

After only two days the Emir suspended the current Parliament, the Kuwait Constitutional Court dissolved it on the ground that this year's election was unconstitutional on June 20. It reinstated the Parliament of 2009. More information in the Kuwait Times. Find the text of the decision here.