Century Foundation, Public International Law & Policy Group Release New Report Considering Constitutional Structures for Iraq

5/13/2003

From: Christy Hicks of the Century Foundation, 212-452-7723 e-mail: hicks@tcf.org web: http://www.tcf.org

NEW YORK, May 13 -- Following is a report released today by The Century Foundation and the Public International Law & Policy Group:

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.

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 principle issues that must be addressed in order to craft a viable constitutional framework in Iraq.

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:

-- Whether the state structure should be unitary or federal; -- Whether in a unitary system the Kurdish region should possess autonomy, or in a federal system an asymmetrical relationship with the central government; -- Whether the parliamentary body should be unicameral or bicameral; -- Whether the executive should be separate from the legislature as in a presidential system, or fused as in a parliamentary system; and whether the executive should be centralized or pluralistic; -- Which electoral system or mix of systems should be employed to select political representatives; and -- Which mechanisms should be established to protect minority and human rights;

For each issue addressed, the report summarizes the views of relevant parties to the extent they are known. It identifies issues that must be resolved to construct a viable constitutional structure, and then reviews relevant precedent that may assist in the resolution of these issues. For each issue, the report also considers a variety of options, and attempts to set forth one or more recommended options. Substantial emphasis is placed on constructing options that best reconcile the competing positions of the various interested parties, while effectively balancing the objectives of democracy and stability.

The analysis and ideas presented in the report were refined during a series of roundtable meetings attended by former senior US Government officials, representatives of various Iraqi parties and neighboring states, and legal and foreign policy experts. The roundtables where chaired by Morton Abramowitz, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, Abraham D. Sofaer, George P. Shultz distinguished scholar and senior fellow at The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and Paul R. Williams, professor at American University.

This report was made possible by funding from The Century Foundation and a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to the Public International Law & Policy Group's program on earned sovereignty.

The report is available online at The Century Foundation's website, http://www.tcf.org, and at the Public International Law & Policy Group's website, http://www.pilpg.org. For more information, or to inquire about an interview with Mort Abramowitz, contact Christy Hicks at 212-452-7723.

------ The Century Foundation is a research foundation that undertakes timely, critical, and analytical studies of major economic, political, and social institutions and issues. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, TCF was founded in 1919 and endowed by Edward A. Filene.