The Constitution-making Handbook Foreword Preface About the Authors Overview Acknowledgments How to use this handbook Impacts of adherence to guiding principles Need for and purposes of this handbook Some emerging guiding principles Part 1: Introduction to constitution-making processes 1.1 The role of a constitution 1.1.1 Increase in constitutions 1.1.2 Importance of, but difficulty in implementing, constitutions 1.1.3 Constitutions as symbols and manifestos, and as legal rules 1.1.4 Constitutions as contracts among people or peoples 1.1.5 Orientation of new constitutions 1.1.6 Choices for constitution-makers 1.1.7 Constitutionalizing responsibilities and duties 1.2 Issues of process 1.2.1 Changing ideas and practices of constitution-making 1.2.2 Can the constitution-making process be designed? 1.3 Key components and issues of the constitution-making process 1.3.1 The importance of a design 1.4 Tasks and responsibilities in constitution-making 1.4.1 Resources 1.4.2 Sequencing the process 1.4.3 Deadlines 1.4.4 Agreeing on an agenda for constitutional reform 1.4.5 The form of the agreement 1.4.6 Scope of reform: Interim, minimal, or complete? 1.4.7 Actors and public participation 1.4.8 Deadlock-breaking mechanisms 1.4.9 Drafting the constitution 1.4.10 Debating the draft constitution 1.4.11 Enacting the constitution 1.4.12 Implementing the constitution 1.5 Assessing the impact of the constitution-making process 1.6 Who does what? A table Part 2: Tasks in a constitution-making process 2.1 Tasks—starting a process 2.1.1 The constitutional starting point 2.1.2 Deciding if a process is needed 2.1.3 Starting a process: The law and the politics 2.1.4 Design 2.1.5 Timetables 2.1.6 Legal basis for the design 2.1.7 Preparing the constitution-makers 2.1.8 Guiding principles for the process 2.1.9 Interim constitutional arrangements 2.1.10 Starting over when a process has “failed” 2.2 Public participation 2.2.1 Introduction to public participation issues 2.2.2 Preparing the public to participate: Civic education 2.2.3 Public consultation 2.2.4 Receiving and analyzing the people’s views 2.3 Administering and managing the process and its resources 2.3.1 The core tasks of administering and managing a process 2.3.12 “Managing” relationships with the international community 2.3.13 Making the rules of procedure and decision-making— when and who? 2.3.14 Dealing with problems in the process 2.3.2 Strategic and operational planning 2.3.3 Financial management 2.3.4 Personnel 2.3.5 Capacity development 2.3.6 Foreign advisers 2.3.7 Making a historical record of the process 2.3.8 Keeping records 2.3.9 Translation and interpretation services 2.3.10 Security 2.3.11 The media 2.4 The agenda of constitutional issues and generating ideas on the issues 2.4.1 Determining the agenda of constitutional issues 2.4.2 Generating ideas on the constitutional issues 2.5 Debating and deciding the issues 2.5.1 Procedures and rules for debating and deciding 2.5.2 Dealing with divisive issues 2.6 The constitutional text: Coherence and drafting 2.6.1 Ensuring coherence in the constitutional provisions 2.6.2 Drafting the constitutional text 2.7 Adopting and implementing the constitution 2.7.1 Adoption, ratification, and promulgation 2.7.2 Implementation Part 3: Institutions, groups, and procedures 3.1 Institutions with multiple roles 3.1.1 Introduction 3.1.2 Constitutional assemblies 3.1.3 National conferences 3.2 Institutions that develop proposals about which final decisions are made elsewhere 3.2.1 Parties to peace processes 3.2.2 The roundtable 3.2.3 Constitutional commissions, committees, and other specialist bodies 3.3 Administrative management bodies 3.4 Specialist or technical input institutions 3.4.1 Experts 3.4.2 Electoral management bodies 3.4.3 Government departments and agencies 3.4.4 Courts 3.5 Referendums and plebiscites 3.5.1 Approving and ratifying the constitution Part 4: Guide to key external actors in the process 4.1 Civil society and the media 4.1.1 Promoting or organizing for constitutional change or reforms 4.1.2 Informing and educating the people about electoral issues related to constitution-making 4.1.3 Civic education 4.1.4 Public consultation 4.1.5 Submissions to the constitution-making body 4.1.6 Research 4.1.7 Lobbying 4.1.8 Monitoring a process 4.2 Guidance for the international community 4.2.1 Common pitfalls of processes led or heavily influenced by the international community 4.2.2 Current guidance for the international community Appendix A: Case Studies Appendix B: Glossary Appendix C: Sample codes of conduct Appendix D: References Boxes Tables
