Comparative constitutionalism

COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 3
TITLE......Page 5
COPYRIGHT......Page 6
CONTENTS......Page 7
PREFACE......Page 9
CASES......Page 10
CONSTITUTIONS......Page 15
STATUTES......Page 24
OTHER INSTRUMENTS......Page 26
Introduction......Page 29
Setting the scene: Africa’s record......Page 33
2 Constitutions and the search for a viable political order......Page 40
The colonial legacy......Page 41
The making of the independence constitutions......Page 43
The next wave of constitution-making......Page 47
The new winds of change......Page 50
Design and content of the ESA constitutions......Page 51
Overview......Page 54
3 Devising popular and durable national constitutions: the new constitutions of the 1990s......Page 56
Seeking the people’s views......Page 57
Utilising comparative experiences......Page 62
Adopting the new constitution......Page 63
Securing the people’s approval in a referendum......Page 68
Overview......Page 70
4 Perfecting imperfections: amending a constitution......Page 71
The amendment procedure......Page 72
The Zimbabwe experience......Page 73
Strengthening the parliamentary safeguard......Page 76
Approval through a national referendum......Page 79
Publicising the proposed amendment(s)......Page 80
Prohibiting retrogressive constitutional amendments......Page 81
Protecting the basic structure of the constitution......Page 82
Overview......Page 83
The exercise of presidential power......Page 85
Election and tenure of the president......Page 88
Electoral process......Page 89
Tenure of and qualification for office......Page 91
The Vice-President......Page 94
The Cabinet......Page 95
Constitutional role of the Cabinet......Page 96
Independence of action for Cabinet ministers......Page 99
Presidential power of appointment......Page 100
The President and the legislature......Page 101
Parliamentary vote of no confidence......Page 102
Exercise of the legislative power......Page 104
Limiting the number of ministers......Page 105
Overview......Page 106
The President and the media......Page 107
Presidential removal......Page 109
Grounds for removal......Page 110
The initiation stage......Page 112
The investigation stage......Page 113
Alternative approaches......Page 116
Implications following the decision to remove......Page 117
Removal on grounds of ill health......Page 118
The monarchies......Page 121
Overview......Page 123
Political parties and democratic governance......Page 127
Factionalism and political parties......Page 129
The funding of political parties......Page 130
Overview......Page 134
Holding free and fair elections......Page 135
Developing an appropriate electoral system......Page 136
Maintaining effective electoral commissions......Page 138
Elections and the role of the media......Page 141
Election monitoring......Page 142
Requesting monitoring......Page 143
Approaches to monitoring elections......Page 144
Overview......Page 146
Challenging election results......Page 148
Membership of the legislature......Page 151
Women in parliament in the ESA states......Page 155
The Speaker......Page 158
Parliamentary questions......Page 159
Parliamentary committees......Page 160
Developing an oversight role......Page 161
Oversight of public spending......Page 162
Oversight of legislation......Page 165
Enhancing the effectiveness of parliamentarians......Page 166
Parliament and the media......Page 168
Parliamentary control of budget, staffing and facilities......Page 169
Floor-crossing......Page 170
Maintaining integrity......Page 174
Judicial overview of the exercise of parliamentary powers......Page 175
Overview......Page 176
Judicial independence......Page 178
Judicial Service Commissions......Page 179
Judicial appointment and tenure......Page 182
Chief Justice......Page 184
Judges......Page 186
Magistrates......Page 190
Towards a fully representative judiciary......Page 191
Providing for judicial self-accounting......Page 192
Terms and conditions of service......Page 193
Protection for and accountability of judges......Page 194
The limits on the criticism of judges......Page 196
Removal proceedings......Page 198
Maintaining an effective and ethical judiciary......Page 200
Interpreting the constitution......Page 204
Overview......Page 210
Introduction......Page 212
The political benefits......Page 214
The economic benefits......Page 215
Drawbacks to devolution......Page 216
The colonial and post-colonial legacy......Page 218
Challenges to providing effective devolution of power......Page 220
The role of traditional institutions......Page 226
Devolution and its relationship to the centre......Page 228
Fiscal arrangements and revenue sharing measures......Page 231
Resolving disputes between sub-national governments and the centre......Page 233
Overview......Page 235
Offices of the ombudsman......Page 236
Human rights commissions......Page 237
Ensuring the independence of national institutions......Page 239
Independent appointees......Page 240
Providing for suitably qualified appointees......Page 242
Providing satisfactory conditions of service......Page 243
Obtaining adequate funding and resources......Page 245
Accountability of national institutions......Page 246
Scope of investigations......Page 247
What can be investigated?......Page 248
Facilitating accessibility......Page 249
An integrated institution?......Page 252
Investigative and remedial powers......Page 253
Promoting human rights......Page 257
Overseeing the state’s compliance with international human rights obligations......Page 258
Reporting on the state of human rights in the country......Page 259
Privatisation and non-state actors......Page 260
Transnational and cross-border co-operation......Page 263
Anti-corruption commissions......Page 264
Overview......Page 266
The relationship between civilian government and the military......Page 268
Coups......Page 269
The military and ‘internal security’......Page 273
The ‘Snow White’ factor......Page 275
Judicial response to coups......Page 276
Defining the constitutional role of the military......Page 279
Providing for the political accountability of the military......Page 280
Accountability to the legislature......Page 281
Operational accountability......Page 282
Financial accountability......Page 283
The military and the courts......Page 284
The military and national institutions......Page 285
Supporting the Constitution: the role of civil society......Page 286
Civil society and the duty to resist......Page 287
Dealing with the past......Page 289
Drawing a line through the past......Page 290
The use of the presidential pardon......Page 292
Bringing usurpers to trial......Page 296
Learning from the past......Page 298
Seeking truth and reconciliation......Page 300
Overview......Page 302
States of emergency......Page 304
Determining the basis for the declaration of a state of emergency......Page 305
Providing safeguards on the declaration of a state of emergency......Page 307
The use and abuse of emergency powers regulations......Page 310
Fundamental rights provisions liable to suspension during a state of emergency......Page 314
Dealing with quasi-emergency powers......Page 315
Preventive detention......Page 317
Providing a right of access to detainees......Page 319
Right of a detainee to have his/her next of kin informed promptly of the detention......Page 320
Duty to publicise the making of a detention order......Page 322
Justifying the need for detention......Page 323
Reviewing the detention order......Page 326
Consequences of breach of the constitutional safeguards......Page 327
Conditions in detention......Page 329
Overview......Page 330
Access to judicial review......Page 331
Right to counsel......Page 332
Conditions of detention......Page 333
Time limits......Page 334
Foreigners......Page 335
Constitutions do matter: the problem of constitutionalism......Page 336
Political culture......Page 338
Historical legacy: colonial and post-colonial......Page 339
The search for popular and durable constitutions in the 1990s and beyond......Page 341
Excessive concentration of power in the executive......Page 342
Lack of parliamentary autonomy and effective political accountability......Page 343
Threats to the independence and integrity of the judiciary......Page 345
The failure to develop effectivemethods of devolution of power to local communities......Page 347
Undermining the Constitution by ‘constitutional’ and ‘extra-constitutional’ means......Page 348
Weakness of civil society and lack of effective independent oversight institutions......Page 350
Conclusion: the Commonwealth path to good governance......Page 351
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 353
INDEX......Page 371