A Nation in Transition: South Sudan’s Constitutional Review Process
Organization: The Sudd Institute
Type: Policy Briefs
Date: 17/02/2013
Publication Summary
One year after the decree issued by the president of the Republic of South Sudan effectively forming the National Constitution Review Commission, little is known about the progress towards writing the permanent constitution for the world's newest nation. The process seems to be considered as the reserve of an exclusive select few and the public has very little or no contribution to and have not participated in the making of the supreme law of the country. It is believed that the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan are the legitemate body that can ractify the nation's constitution through nation-wide constitution referendum otherwise the legitemacy of the permanent constitution of South Sudan will be in serious doubt if it is prepared, approved and passed by only a few individuals.
The Sudd Institute, in this policy brief, looks at the stalled process of the making of permanent constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, taking stock of what has been done since the National Constitution Review Commission was formed, taking into account what still needs to be done, the time required to formulate a good permanent constitution with the participation of the general South Sudanese public and the resources and time required for the Commission to complete the work.