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Afghanistan; 2004 Constitution; Constitution-Making; Public Participation; Post-conflict States; Participatory Constitutional Design; The Right to Take Part in Constitution-writing; Democracy
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Full-Text Articles in Comparative and Foreign Law
Public Participation In The Constitution-Making Process: The Afghan Experiment, Shamshad Pasarlay
Public Participation In The Constitution-Making Process: The Afghan Experiment, Shamshad Pasarlay
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
This Article explores the public participation process conducted during the drafting of Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution. It examines scores of questionnaires, public comments, written submissions and minutes of town hall meetings that the framers used to gather public opinion and input. The Article highlights that the makers of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan designed and implemented an extensive public participation process, but public opinion did not have a real impact on constitutional outcomes. Instead, the content of the constitution was settled by the political elites whose agreement was needed for constitutional ratification. Drawing on this case study, the paper suggests that …