Constitution-Building in Africa
The Never-Ending Story of the Making, Unmaking and Remaking of Constitutions
In: African and Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Charles Manga Fombad in
Current site
Google Scholar
Constitution-building is a delicate and intricate process which requires ample reflection and careful choices. African constitution-builders and politicians have since the beginning of the 1990s embarked on a process of constitutional reforms. A careful examination of the developments of the last two decades shows that the process has almost provoked never-ending contagion of making, unmaking and remaking of constitutions. This paper attempts to provide an over-view of the changes that have been taking place. Some of the issues relating to the durability of national constitutions and theoretical foundations for constitutional change are discussed. The paper also considers some of the possible implications of the endless processes of making, unmaking and remaking constitutions. The critical question it tries to grapple with is how this unending process of constitution-building in Africa can be controlled in a manner that will ensure peace, political stability and provide a legitimate foundation for entrenching a firm culture of constitutionalism. In advocating for an entrenched permanent constitutional review commission to check against frequent and arbitrary constitutional changes, the paper argues that this is the best way for constitutional legitimacy to be sustained throughout the life of a constitution.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Ackerman B. We the People: Foundations 1991 Cambridge Harvard University Press 113
-
Armstrong B. “Ne Touche Pas Ma Constitution: Pressures and Presidential Term Limits” accessed in August 2014 n.d. http://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/documents/2011HonorsThesisBenArmstrong.pdf
-
Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 accessed in August 2014 http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/
-
De Vos P. “On Changing the Constitution” 2012 March 23 accessed in August 2014 http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/on-changing-the-constitution/
-
Elster J. “Forces and Mechanisms in the Constitution-Making Process” Duke Law Journal 1995 45 368 376
-
Fombad C.M. “Some Perspectives on Durability and Change under Modern African Constitutions” i.con 2013 382 413
-
Fombad C.M. “Constitutional Reforms in Africa and Constitutionalism in Africa: Reflections on Some Current Challenges and Future Prospects” Buffalo Law Review 2011 59 4 1007 1009
-
Fombad C.M. Nhema A. & Zeleza P.T. “Post-1990 Constitutional Reforms in Africa: A Preliminary Assessment of the Prospects for Constitutional Governance and Constitutionalism” The Resolution of African Conflicts. The Management of Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Reconstruction 2008 Oxford OSSREA & James Currey 179 199
-
Freedom in the World 2013 accessed in August 2014 http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/fiw%202013%20Booklet.pdf
-
Freedom of the Press 2013 accessed in August 2014 http://www.freedomhouse.org/regions/sub-saharan-africa
-
Ginsburg T., Melton J. & Elkins Z. “The Endurance of National Constitutions” accessed in August 2014 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1536925 n.d.
-
Huntingdon S. The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century 1991 Norman University of Oklahoma Press 15 16
-
Ibrahim Index of African Governance 2013 accessed in August 2014 http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/downloads/2012-iiag-summary-report.pdf
-
Kaguongo W. “Introductory Note to the Constitution of Kenya” accessed in August 2014 n.d. https://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/47/15338/Introductory%20Note%20Kenya_final.pdf
-
Karimi F. & Karikari-Apau N. “Zimbabwe Elections praise by African Union, Sidesteps Rigging Claims” accessed in August 2014 accessed at http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/02/world/africa/zimbabwe-election/index.html
-
Lutz D.S. “Towards a Theory of Constitutional Amendment” American Political Science Review 1994 88 2 355 370
-
Manyatera G. “Introductory Note to the Constitution of Zimbabwe” n.d. (forthcoming)
-
McConnell M.W. “Textualism and the Dead Hand of the Past” George Washington Review 1998 60 1127 1128
-
“Not Credible: Zimbabwe’s 2013 Elections results marred by Fraud” accessed in August 2014 http://www.sokwanele.com/zimbabwe-elections/evidence-of-fraud
-
Ouma S.O. “Constitution-Making and Constitutional Reform in Fledgling Democracies: An East African Appraisal” Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, Reinforcing Judicial and Legal Institutions: Kenyan and Regional Perspectives 2007 Nairobi Konrad Adenauer Stiftung 41 61
-
Philippe X. “The Principles of Universal Jurisdiction and Complimentarity: How Do the Two Principles Intermesh?” International Review of the Red Cross 2006 88 862 375 398
-
Prempeh K. “Presidential Power in Comparative Perspective: The Puzzling Persistence of Imperial Presidency in Post-Authoritarian Africa” Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 2008 35 4 1 87
-
Rasch B.E. “Foundations of Constitutional Stability: Veto Points, Qualified Majorities, and Agenda-Setting Rules in Amendment Procedures” accessed in August 2014 n.d. http://verfassungswandel.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/bjc3b8rn-erik-rasch-constitutional-rigidity-and-formal-amendment-procedures1.pdf
-
Ryngaert C. “The International Criminal Court and Universal Jurisdiction” accessed in August 2014 n.d. https://ghum.kuleuven.be/ggs/publications/working_papers/new_series/wp41-50/wp46.pdf
-
Thomashausen A. Wolfrum R. & Grote R. “The Constitutions of Angola” Constitutions of the Countriesof the World-Oxford Constitutions Online accessed August 2014 n.d. online publication at http://www.oup.com/online/us/law/oco/
-
Tribe L. & Landry T. “Reflections on Constitution-Making” American University Journal of International Law and Policy 1993 8 628
-
Wahiu W. A Practical Guide to Constitution Building: An Introduction 2011 Stockholm International IDEA
-
“Zimbabwe Elections marred by Irregularities” accessed in August 2014 http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/press/news/2013/zimbabwe_elections.html?id=733153
-
4
S. Huntingdon coined the expression in, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991): 15-16.
-
5
Charles Manga Fombad (2011): 1007-1108.
-
7
Ibid., 2.
-
11
Ibid., 2.
-
16
See Charles Manga Fombad (2013), 385.
-
29
Charles Manga Fombad (2008).
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1021 | 206 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 237 | 10 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 114 | 19 | 0 |
Constitution-Building in Africa
The Never-Ending Story of the Making, Unmaking and Remaking of Constitutions
In: African and Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Charles Manga Fombad in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Constitution-building is a delicate and intricate process which requires ample reflection and careful choices. African constitution-builders and politicians have since the beginning of the 1990s embarked on a process of constitutional reforms. A careful examination of the developments of the last two decades shows that the process has almost provoked never-ending contagion of making, unmaking and remaking of constitutions. This paper attempts to provide an over-view of the changes that have been taking place. Some of the issues relating to the durability of national constitutions and theoretical foundations for constitutional change are discussed. The paper also considers some of the possible implications of the endless processes of making, unmaking and remaking constitutions. The critical question it tries to grapple with is how this unending process of constitution-building in Africa can be controlled in a manner that will ensure peace, political stability and provide a legitimate foundation for entrenching a firm culture of constitutionalism. In advocating for an entrenched permanent constitutional review commission to check against frequent and arbitrary constitutional changes, the paper argues that this is the best way for constitutional legitimacy to be sustained throughout the life of a constitution.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1021 | 206 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 237 | 10 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 114 | 19 | 0 |
