The Somali Constitution on Federalism

[xiinfaniin]

Baashi,

 

Don't have the time bro. Besides, I don't see this as worth the effort. I know NGONGE is not serious , and NORF hadduu casiir cabay

 

But there is a pattern worth observing ...

[The Zack]

CHAPTER 5

Article 48. The Structure of Government

(1) The structure of the government in the Federal Republic of Somalia is composed of two levels of government:

(a) The Federal Government Level;

(b) The Federal Member States Level, which is comprised of the Federal Member State government, and the local governments.

(2) No single region can stand alone. Until such time as a region merges with another region(s) to form a new Federal Member State, a region shall be directly administered by the Federal Government for a maximum period of two years.

Article 49. The Number and Boundaries of the Federal Member States and Districts

(1) The number and boundaries of the Federal Member States shall be determined by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament.

(2) The House of the People of the Federal Parliament, before determining the number and boundaries of the Federal Member States, shall nominate a national commission which shall study the issue, and submit a report of its findings with recommendations to the House of the People of the Federal Parliament.

(3) The nomination of the commission referred to in Clause two shall be preceded by the enactment of a law by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament, which shall define:

(a) The responsibilities and powers of the commission;

(b) The parameters and conditions it shall use for the establishment of the Federal Member States;

© The number of the commissioners, requirements of membership, nomination methods, office tenure, and their remuneration.

(4) The number and the boundaries of the districts in a Federal Member State shall be determined by a law enacted by the parliament of the Federal Member State, which must be approved by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament.

Harmonized Draft Constitution Signed by Signatories –

Unofficial English Translation

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(5) Federal Member State boundaries shall be based on the boundaries of the administrative regions as they existed before 1991.

(6) Based on a voluntary decision, two or more regions may merge to form a Federal Member State.

Article 50. Federalism Principles of the Federal Republic of Somalia

The various levels of government, in all interactions between themselves and in the exercise of their legislative functions and other powers, shall observe the principles of federalism, which are:

(a) Every level of government shall enjoy the confidence and support of the people;

(b) Power is given to the level of government where it is likely to be most effectively exercised;

© The existence and sustainability of a relationship of mutual cooperation and support between the governments of the Federal Member States, and between the governments of the Federal Member States and the Federal Government, in the spirit of national unity;

(d) Every part of the Federal Republic of Somalia shall enjoy similar levels of services and a similar level of support from government;

(e) Fair distribution of resources;

(f) The responsibility for the raising of revenue shall be given to the level of government where it is likely to be most effective exercised;

(g) The resolution of disputes through dialogue and reconciliation.

Article 51. Collaborative Relationships Between the Various Levels of Government in the Federal Republic of Somalia

(1) Every government shall strive for a cooperative relationship with other governments, whether at the same level or at another level of government.

(2) Every government shall respect and protect the limits of its powers and the powers of other governments, and shall:

(a) Have effective brotherly relationships with other levels of government in order to promote the unity of the citizenry;

Harmonized Draft Constitution Signed by Signatories –

Unofficial English Translation

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(b) Inform governments of other levels of policies and activities it implements within its boundaries which may have an impact on the areas of other levels;

© Have policies that facilitate the planning and implementation of joint development projects.

(3) In order to ensure the existence and development of cooperative federal relations, an annual conference of Executive heads of the Federal Government and the Federal Member State governments shall regularly be convened, so as to discuss and agree on:

(a) Strengthening national unity;

(b) Security and peace of the country;

© National socio-economic development, and common market policies of the country;

(d) Promotion of the wealth of the people;

(e) Information sharing.

(4) All levels of government must comply with the national Constitution, without any government assuming more powers than the Constitution allocates.

(5) A law passed by the Federal Parliament shall regulate:

(a) The establishment of institutions and guidelines that shall facilitate interaction between the various levels of government;

(b) The establishment of guidelines that will facilitate the resolution of disputes between the various levels of government without resorting to court.

Article 52. Cooperative Relationships Between the Various Federal Member State Governments

(1) The Federal Government and Federal Member State governments shall ensure that meetings between the Presidents of the Federal Member States and high ranking officials be held regularly to discuss issues that affect their territories, including:

(a) Water sources;

(b) Agriculture;

© Animal husbandry;

(d) Pasture and forestry;

(e) The prevention of erosion and the protection of the environment;

(f) Health;

(g) Education;

Harmonized Draft Constitution Signed by Signatories –

Unofficial English Translation

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(h) Relations and dialogue amongst traditional leaders, and the protection and development of traditional law;

(i) Relations amongst religious scholars; and

(j) Youth.

(2) Federal Member States may enter cooperative agreements amongst themselves or with the Federal Government, which may not be legally binding or contradict the national constitution and the constitutions of the Federal Member States.

Article 53. International Negotiations

(1) In the spirit of inter-governmental cooperation the Federal Government shall consult the Federal Member States on negotiations relating to foreign aid, trade, treaties, or other major issues related to international agreements.

(2) Where negotiations particularly affect Federal Member State interests, the negotiating delegation of the Federal Government shall be supplemented by representatives of the Federal Member States governments.

(3) In conducting negotiations, the Federal Government shall regard itself as the guardian of the interests of the Federal Member States, and must act accordingly.

Article 54. Allocation of powers

The allocation of powers and resources shall be negotiated and agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Federal Member States (pending the formation of Federal Member States), except in matters concerning: (A) Foreign Affairs; (B) National Defense; © Citizenship and Immigration; (D) Monetary Policy, which shall be the powers and responsibilities of the federal government.

[NGONGE]

^^ That didn't shed any more light than we already had.

[Baashi]

Many thanks Zack. There you have it. Answers to your questions can be found in Article 48, Clause 2 and Article 49, Clause 6. Remember also part of legislative body (Upper House of the Parliament) and third branch of the state (Constitutional Court) are not established yet. On top of that this constitution is the law of the land in the next four years.

[xabad]

not you, but this carafaat fella.

[N.O.R.F]

xiinfaniin;925169 wrote:

You hear it ya jamaacah from NGONGE, and NORF

 

Jubbaland is unconstitutional. Kala dareera.

 

EDIT: It is interesting our secessionists brothers have a thing for Kismayo. Macno Yare come up with a full blown UN Security Council Resulation specificly designed to shoot down Kismayo (or at least to frustrate the effort

)

 

And we have NORF with a more powerful amo to kill whole thing

Why play up to the gallery saxib? Stop dancing

 

 

Baashe,

 

My interpretations are:

 

48.2 is still subject to 49.2 which is subject to 49.3.

 

49.6 is subject to 49.2 which again, is subject to 49.3.

 

Its actually a bit confusing.

[N.O.R.F]

Baashi;925186 wrote:

Many thanks Zack. There you have it. Answers to your questions can be found in Article 48, Clause 2 and Article 49, Clause 6.

Remember also part of legislative body (Upper House of the Parliament) and third branch of the state (Constitutional Court) are not established yet. On top of that this constitution is the law of the land in the next four years.

So Jubbaland is the kart before the horse?

[xiinfaniin]

LOL@ kart before the horse

 

Baashi maxaan kuu sheegay: NORF is here for the kicks

[N.O.R.F]

Looks like you're here for the kicks saxib

[SayidSomal]

Norf & Xiin - Give each other good kicks then

 

My take on this issue is - until the said articles and clauses in the consitution are enacted upon (e.g the commission etc) - things are as they were before -ie- the citizens of any two gobols of the pre 1991 are free to set up any federal state they like. so it is not really putting the kart before the horse.

 

How's the interpertation of the constitution NORF?

[Baashi]

Not at all. It's actually the other way around. Per rule of precedence, Article 48 takes precedence (in the unlikely event of contradiction). That's 48 has priority of importance over all other. I didn't read the Law but waan xoogsanayaa as a lay person.

 

And no it is not a case of putting the cart before the horse. Not at all. It simply says the state has adopted federalism as the political system. Another way of saying clan federation. With this document, folks embraced the dual system of governance. This document only recognizes eighteen administrative regions of pre-1991 Somalia. If two or more administrative region of the existing eighteen regions wish to merge and form a federal member state they may do so NOW. The regions that opt out of this available option will come under the control of Federal Government for first two years of post transitional period

 

Then it goes into detail the ways and means to get to the promise land of mature and solid federal system. The document also anticipates whole range of issues and puts mechanism to deal with these issues. What to do with shared localities that belong to two adjacent federal member state -- e.g Galkacyo, Ceerigaabo (ignore feasibility of SL agreeing to form unity government with Mogadishu for a second).

 

You seem to get caught up with the mechanics of facilitating the full implementation of the system. Yes, you are absolutely right there are many loopholes rip for explotation. But that's beside the point. The main point of your question was about whether more or two administrative regions could proceed the formation of the federal member state. The answer is ephatic YES.

 

The obly real issue that will need a commission is Gedo vs. Bakool & Bay dispute over the clan ownership of Baardheere and Luuq. Here is where the commission comes in and forward recommendation of its findings to the Aqalka Ummada. The other issue is since no single administrative region cannot stand by itself, how does the question of Galmudug going to be dealt!

 

We're opening a can of worms and the implementation of the clan federation is going to be cumbersome and difficult. But of all of candidates for federal state member, Jubba is a clear cut given the clan compossition of its residents.

 

Again I'm not an attorney and my take is only my reading of the document. If your reading of it makes sense to me I will stand corrected.

[Carafaat]

Seems like cherry picking from one part of a sub-article(two regions can merge)from the constitution without considering thecomplete article it is subject too or any of the other articles (law, Parliaments role, commission, demarcations, federal goverment mandate of 2 years, etc).

 

Who said this issue wasnt about the constitution.

[N.O.R.F]

Bashi, usually, such legal documents are explicit as to what takes precedence. That isn’t the case here. There is no mention of the commission only dealing with disputes either. The role of the commission is to assess and make recommendations on the formation of ALL Federal states. Whichever way it happens to be (admin created now or after the framework is complete), a federal state won’t be ‘constitutionally’ federal until the commission make it’s recommendation and Parliament approves it.

 

There is still a long way to go and I can see some issues along the way. The creation of the first Federal state is the most crucial.

[xiinfaniin]

N.O.R.F;925249 wrote:

Whichever way it happens to be (admin created now or after the framework is complete),

a federal state won’t be ‘constitutionally’ federal until the commission make it’s recommendation and Parliament approves it.

 

You got that part right . No argument there. Bravo NORF.

[N.O.R.F]

^

 

So all the huuhaa when done will still be subject to a commission's review and recommendation and parliamentary approval?

 

You better let them know