The Century Foundation and the Public International Law & Policy Group Release New Report Considering Constitutional Structures for a Stable Democratic Iraq

May 12, 2003

Authors: admin

Publisher(s): The Century Foundation

The Century Foundation and the Public International Law & Policy Group Release New Report Considering Constitutional Structures for a Stable Democratic Iraq<br>5/13/03, NYC – With the rapid success of the war in Iraq and the fall of the Hussein regime, the people of Iraq will turn to the task of reconstituting an Iraqi state. One of the first steps in this process will be to design, agree upon, and implement a new constitutional structure. The challenges to drafting a new constitution are substantially magnified for Iraq given its complex mosaic of ethnic and religious identities, the history of repression under Saddam Hussein, the necessary presence of American forces, and Iraq’s complex relations with its neighboring states. <br>A report released today by The Century Foundation and the Public International Law & Policy Group, “Establishing a Stable Democratic Constitutional Structure in Iraq: Some Basic Considerations,” aims to serve as an aid to the future drafters of the Iraqi constitution in navigating the complexities of the constitution building process. It does not set forth a proposed constitutional structure, but rather examines some of the principal issues that must be addressed in order to craft a viable constitutional framework in Iraq. <br>Given the complexities in Iraq, the overriding tension faced by the drafters of the new constitution will be the need to create a representative form of government, which adequately protects the rights and interests of all individuals within the various groups making up the Iraqi nation, while also preserving internal and external stability. The main issues covered in the report follow: <br>·         Whether the state structure should be unitary or federal; <br>·         Whether in a unitary system the Kurdish region should possess autonomy, or in a federal system an asymmetrical relationship with the central government;<br>·         Whether the parliamentary body should be unicameral or bicameral;<br>·