Support to Constitution Building

Introduction: the Nepal Process

There has been much talk about the Constituent Assembly, but is important to realize what the function of a Constituent Assembly is: to make a new Constitution. That is why we have called this section "Constitution Making". There is no one standard way to go about making a new constitution. It will all depend on why a country wants a new constitution, whether it has a constitution already, whether the existing constitution can continue while the new one is drafted, whether there is time pressure (from inside or outside the country) and many other factors.

Constitution making (for the new Constitution of 2009?) in Nepal has already begun. It is not right to think of the Constituent Assembly as being the whole of the process. All the discussions that have been held by political parties, by government and by civil society are all part of the process. So is the Interim Constitution: it sets the framework for the formal process of making the new Constitution.

The discussion in civil society should continue. Under the Interim Constitution there is to be a High Level Commission on State Restructuring. It is not yet in existence and we do not know what its terms of reference will be. But it will hopefully be open to receiving suggestions from the public.

When the Constituent Assembly meets after elections, it will, hopefully, set up mechanisms to consult the public and hear their views. The Interim Constitution says that the people of Nepal are to make their constitution, through the Constituent Assembly. This will require active involvement on the part of the people as a whole.

The Constituent Assembly is to be given 2 years to carry to do its work. In this section of the website you will find:

A short section on "What is a Constitution?"
A short section on "What is involved in making a Constitution ?"
A short section on "What is a Constituent Assembly?"
A short paper delivered as a talk in April 2007 on the "Constituent Assembly and the Constitution Making Process"
A section on Elections to the Constituent Assembly
Some brief discussion of the importance and nature of public participation in the constitution making process.
All the provisions of the Interim Constitution on the making of the new Constitution
A longer paper written before the Interim Constitution was completed. It is called "Roadmap to a New Constitution?" ( नयाँ संविधानका लागि मार्गचित्र ) and charts a possible route to a new Constitution. As it happens the Interim Constitution does not take the sort of approach that is suggested here, on the whole, but the paper may still be of interest.
Among other things, that paper deals with the idea of a Constitution Commission. It might still be possible for the High Level Commission on State Restructuring to carry out some of the functions suggested for a Constitution Commission in that paper. You can read a short paper on the idea of a Constitution Commission (a paper written before the Interim Constitution was passed, so it is now a bit out-of date)..
Report of the first CASU national conference (on Constitution Making in Nepal, in March 2007).
Also on this website are various PowerPoint presentations delivered at conferences or at various workshops. You can click here for a list of PowerPoint presentations on the Constitution Making process generally or on the Constituent Assembly.
You can go to a section on "From Demand to Constitution" which discusses how the demands of a particular community (taking the dalit community as an example) can be translated into provisions of a new constitution, discussing both strategy, and a few concrete examples of constitutional provisions.
You can also read something about constitution making processes in other countries here.

United Nations Development Programme, Nepal

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Introduction: the Nepal Process