Homestead mailing list

["Melody O." <melody AT crecon.com>]

This is a site containing the Iraqi Constitution: 
http://www.cpa-iraq.org/government/TAL.html

This is a site containing commentary on the Iraqi Constitution.  I have not
read through the entire thing so cannot say that I agree or disagree with
their findings:
http://www.geocities.com/nathanbrown1/interimiraqiconstitution.html

And this is *my* commentary of sections of their Constitution:

}Article 7.

}A)       Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be
considered a }source of legislation.  No law that contradicts the
universally agreed tenets }of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the
rights cited in Chapter Two of }this Law may be enacted during the
transitional period.  This Law respects the }Islamic identity of the
majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full }religious rights of
all individuals to freedom of religious belief and }practice. 

"No law that contradicts the principles of democracy can may be enacted
during transitional period."  So they don't have a choice at the form of
government 
that they have been given. 

"Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be considered a
source of legislation."  So they don't have choice of religion; religion is
set up as religion of the State and must be considered when making laws.
Take a look through history at what happens when an official religion
occurs.  The people not only have to worry about breaking the law, but
religious leaders will incorporate obedience to the law as part of their
belief system; breaking the law will result in some form of eternal hell.

}Article 1
}The document specifies that the use of the masculine includes the
feminine.  }(Arabic is a much more strongly gendered language than English,
and nouns, }verbs, and adjectives all indicate gender.  The masculine is
generally used }not only for men but also for cases in which gender is
unspecified.)  Thus, }this provision makes explicit what might otherwise be
only implicit: that }every reference to an "Iraqi," "citizen," or
"individual" in the masculine }refers to women as well as men.  This
provision seems to be adopted from the }draft constitution for a
Palestinian state.  Juan Cole and Shahin Cole have }written a general
analysis on gender issues related to the constitution.

So does this statement: "Thus, this provision makes explicit what might
otherwise be only implicit: that every reference to an "Iraqi," "citizen,"
or "individual" in the masculine refers to women as well as men." go along
with the same Islam that makes women cover their head and never make eye
contact with a man?  I hardly believe that.  And since no legislation,
including a Constitution I suppose, can go against the state religion of
Islam, I conclude that the state will need to change a few things about the
Islam religion.

}Article 12.

}All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect,
opinion, }belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal
before the law.  }Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of
his gender, }nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited.  Everyone has
the right to }life, liberty, and the security of his person.  No one may be
deprived of his }life or liberty, except in accordance with legal
procedures.  All are equal }
}before the courts.

I suppose that this doesn't contradict Islam, eh?

}(F)       Each Iraqi has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and
}religious belief and practice.  Coercion in such matters shall be
prohibited. 

And I suppose that a state religion doesn't constitute "coercion", does it?

}Article 14.

}            The individual has the right to security, education, health
care, }and social security.  The Iraqi State and its governmental units,
including }the federal government, the regions, governorates,
municipalities, and local }administrations, within the limits of their
resources and with due regard to }other vital needs, shall strive to
provide prosperity and employment }opportunities to the people.

Glad to see that the breads and circuses that goes along with democracy has
already been established.  No citizen should be neglected "prosperity and
employment opportunities to the people" by the government, should they?  

}(B)

} Police, investigators, or other governmental authorities may not violate
the }sanctity of private residences, whether these authorities belong to
the }federal or regional governments, governorates, municipalities, or
local }administrations, unless a judge or investigating magistrate has
issued a }search warrant in accordance with applicable law on the basis of
information }provided by a sworn individual who knew that bearing false
witness would }render him liable to punishment.  Extreme exigent
circumstances, as determined }by a court of competent jurisdiction, may
justify a warrantless search, but }such exigencies shall be narrowly
construed.  In the event that a warrantless }search is carried out in the
absence of an extreme exigent circumstance, the }evidence so seized, and
any other evidence found derivatively from such }search, shall be
inadmissible in connection with a criminal charge, unless the }court
determines that the person who carried out the warrantless search }believed
reasonably and in good faith that the search was in accordance with }the law.

LOL! This one had to be put in by the Bush administration!  You are
guaranteed right to privacy-one *must* have a warrant to search and seize
your property *UNLESS* the court believed that the *UNLAWFUL* search was in
accordance with the law.  

}Article 17.

}            It shall not be permitted to possess, bear, buy, or sell arms
}except on licensure issued in accordance with the law.

>From what I have read, they were more free under Saddam on this one.

}Article 20.

}(A)       Every Iraqi who fulfills the conditions stipulated in the
electoral }law has the right to stand for election and cast his ballot
secretly in free, }open, fair, competitive, and periodic elections.

}(B)       No Iraqi may be discriminated against for purposes of voting in
}elections on the basis of gender, religion, sect, race, belief, ethnic
origin, }language, wealth, or literacy.

My question about women voting has been answered.

  
LAW OF ADMINISTRATION FOR THE STATE OF IRAQ

FOR THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 

8 March 2004

 PREAMBLE 

The people of Iraq, striving to reclaim their freedom, which was usurped by
the previous tyrannical regime, rejecting violence and coercion in all
their forms, and particularly when used as instruments of governance, have
determined that they shall hereafter remain a free people governed under
the rule of law.

These people, affirming today their respect for international law,
especially having been amongst the founders of the United Nations, working
to reclaim their legitimate place among nations, have endeavored at the
same time to preserve the unity of their homeland in a spirit of fraternity
and solidarity in order to draw the features of the future new Iraq, and to
establish the mechanisms aiming, amongst other aims, to erase the effects
of racist and sectarian policies and practices.

This Law is now established to govern the affairs of Iraq during the
transitional period until a duly elected government, operating under a
permanent and legitimate constitution achieving full democracy, shall come
into being.

  

CHAPTER ONE - FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

 Article 1.

(A)      This Law shall be called the "Law of Administration for the State
of Iraq for the Transitional Period," and the phrase "this Law" wherever it
appears in this legislation shall mean the "Law of Administration for the
State of Iraq for the Transitional Period." 

(B)       Gender-specific language shall apply equally to male and female.

(C)       The Preamble to this Law is an integral part of this Law.

 

Article 2. 

(A)       The term "transitional period" shall refer to the period
beginning on 30 June 2004 and lasting until the formation of an elected
Iraqi government pursuant to a permanent constitution as set forth in this
Law, which in any case shall be no later than 31 December 2005, unless the
provisions of Article 61 are applied.

(B)       The transitional period shall consist of two phases.

(1)        The first phase shall begin with the formation of a fully
sovereign Iraqi Interim Government that takes power on 30 June 2004.  This
government shall be constituted in accordance with a process of extensive
deliberations and consultations with cross-sections of the Iraqi people
conducted by the Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority
and possibly in consultation with the United Nations.  This government
shall exercise authority in accordance with this Law, including the
fundamental principles and rights specified herein, and with an annex that
shall be agreed upon and issued before the beginning of the transitional
period and that shall be an integral part of this Law.  

(2)        The second phase shall begin after the formation of the Iraqi
Transitional Government, which will take place after elections for the
National Assembly have been held as stipulated in this Law, provided that,
if possible, these elections are not delayed beyond 31 December 2004, and,
in any event, beyond 31 January 2005.  This second phase shall end upon the
formation of an Iraqi government pursuant to a permanent constitution.    

Article 3.

(A)       This Law is the Supreme Law of the land and shall be binding in
all parts of Iraq without exception.  No amendment to this Law may be made
except by a three-fourths majority of the members of the National Assembly
and the unanimous approval of the Presidency Council.  Likewise, no
amendment may be made that could abridge in any way the rights of the Iraqi
people cited in Chapter Two; extend the transitional period beyond the
timeframe cited in this Law; delay the holding of elections to a new
assembly; reduce the powers of the regions or governorates; or affect
Islam, or any other religions or sects and their rites.

(B)       Any legal provision that conflicts with this Law is null and void.

(C)       This Law shall cease to have effect upon the formation of an
elected government pursuant to a permanent constitution.

Article 4.

            The system of government in Iraq shall be republican, federal,
democratic, and pluralistic, and powers shall be shared between the federal
government and the regional governments, governorates, municipalities, and
local administrations.  The federal system shall be based upon geographic
and historical realities and the separation of powers, and not upon origin,
race, ethnicity, nationality, or confession.

Article 5.

            The Iraqi Armed Forces shall be subject to the civilian control
of the Iraqi Transitional Government, in accordance with the contents of
Chapters Three and Five of this Law.

Article 6.

            The Iraqi Transitional Government shall take effective steps to
end the vestiges of the oppressive acts of the previous regime arising from
forced displacement, deprivation of citizenship, expropriation of financial
assets and property, and dismissal from government employment for
political, racial, or sectarian reasons.  

Article 7.

A)       Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be
considered a source of legislation.  No law that contradicts the
universally agreed tenets of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the
rights cited in Chapter Two of this Law may be enacted during the
transitional period.  This Law respects the Islamic identity of the
majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of
all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice. 

(B)       Iraq is a country of many nationalities, and the Arab people in
Iraq are an inseparable part of the Arab nation.

Article 8.

            The flag, anthem, and emblem of the State shall be fixed by law.

 Article 9.

            The Arabic language and the Kurdish language are the two
official languages of Iraq.  The right of Iraqis to educate their children
in their mother tongue, such as Turcoman, Syriac, or Armenian, in
government educational institutions in accordance with educational
guidelines, or in any other language in private educational institutions,
shall be guaranteed.  The scope of the term "official language" and the
means of applying the provisions of this Article shall be defined by law
and shall include:

(1)        Publication of the official gazette, in the two languages;

(2)       Speech and expression in official settings, such as the National
Assembly, the Council of Ministers, courts, and official conferences, in
either of the two languages;

(3)        Recognition and publication of official documents and
correspondence in the two languages;

(4)        Opening schools that teach in the two languages, in accordance
with educational guidelines;

(5)        Use of both languages in any other settings enjoined by the
principle of equality (such as bank notes, passports, and stamps);

(6)        Use of both languages in the federal institutions and agencies
in the Kurdistan region.

 

CHAPTER TWO - FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Article 10.

            As an expression of the free will and sovereignty of the Iraqi
people, their representatives shall form the governmental structures of the
State of Iraq.  The Iraqi Transitional Government and the governments of
the regions, governorates, municipalities, and local administrations shall
respect the rights of the Iraqi people, including those rights cited in
this Chapter.

Article 11.

(A)       Anyone who carries Iraqi nationality shall be deemed an Iraqi
citizen.  His citizenship shall grant him all the rights and duties
stipulated in this Law and shall be the basis of his relation to the
homeland and the State.

(B)       No Iraqi may have his Iraqi citizenship withdrawn or be exiled
unless he is a naturalized citizen who, in his application for citizenship,
as established in a court of law, made material falsifications on the basis
of which citizenship was granted.  

(C)       Each Iraqi shall have the right to carry more than one
citizenship.  Any Iraqi whose citizenship was withdrawn because he acquired
another citizenship shall be deemed an Iraqi.

(D)       Any Iraqi whose Iraqi citizenship was withdrawn for political,
religious, racial, or sectarian reasons has the right to reclaim his Iraqi
citizenship.

(E)       Decision Number 666 (1980) of the dissolved Revolutionary Command
Council is annuled, and anyone whose citizenship was withdrawn on the basis
of this decree shall be deemed an Iraqi.

(F)       The National Assembly must issue laws pertaining to citizenship
and naturalization consistent with the provisions of this Law

(G)       The Courts shall examine all disputes airising from the
application of the provisions relating to citizenship.  

 Article 12.

All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect,
opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal
before the law.  Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of
his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited.  Everyone has
the right to life, liberty, and the security of his person.  No one may be
deprived of his life or liberty, except in accordance with legal
procedures.  All are equal before the courts.

Article 13.

(A)       Public and private freedoms shall be protected.

(B)       The right of free expression shall be protected.

(C)       The right of free peaceable assembly and the right to join
associations freely, as well as the right to form and join unions and
political parties freely, in accordance with the law, shall be guaranteed.

(D)       Each Iraqi has the right of free movement in all parts of Iraq
and the right to travel abroad and return freely.

(E)       Each Iraqi has the right to demonstrate and strike peaceably in
accordance with the law.

(F)       Each Iraqi has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and
religious belief and practice.  Coercion in such matters shall be
prohibited.    

(G)       Slavery, the slave trade, forced labor, and involuntary servitude
with or without pay, shall be forbidden.

(H)       Each Iraqi has the right to privacy.   

 

Article 14.

            The individual has the right to security, education, health
care, and social security.  The Iraqi State and its governmental units,
including the federal government, the regions, governorates,
municipalities, and local administrations, within the limits of their
resources and with due regard to other vital needs, shall strive to provide
prosperity and employment opportunities to the people.

 Article 15.

(A)       No civil law shall have retroactive effect unless the law so
stipulates.  There shall be neither a crime, nor punishment, except by law
in effect at the time the crime is committed. 

(B)       Police, investigators, or other governmental authorities may not
violate the sanctity of private residences, whether these authorities
belong to the federal or regional governments, governorates,
municipalities, or local administrations, unless a judge or investigating
magistrate has issued a search warrant in accordance with applicable law on
the basis of information provided by a sworn individual who knew that
bearing false witness would render him liable to punishment.  Extreme
exigent circumstances, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction,
may justify a warrantless search, but such exigencies shall be narrowly
construed.  In the event that a warrantless search is carried out in the
absence of an extreme exigent circumstance, the evidence so seized, and any
other evidence found derivatively from such search, shall be inadmissible
in connection with a criminal charge, unless the court determines that the
person who carried out the warrantless search believed reasonably and in
good faith that the search was in accordance with the law.

 (C)       No one may be unlawfully arrested or detained, and no one may be
detained by reason of political or religious beliefs.  

(D)       All persons shall be guaranteed the right to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, regardless of whether the
proceeding is civil or criminal.  Notice of the proceeding and its legal
basis must be provided to the accused without delay.

(E)       The accused is innocent until proven guilty pursuant to law, and
he likewise has the right to engage independent and competent counsel, to
remain silent in response to questions addressed to him with no compulsion
to testify for any reason, to participate in preparing his defense, and to
summon and examine witnesses or to ask the judge to do so.  At the time a
person is arrested, he must be notified of these rights.  

(F)       The right to a fair, speedy, and open trial shall be guaranteed.  

(G)       Every person deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall
have the right of recourse to a court to determine the legality of his
arrest or detention without delay and to order his release if this occurred
in an illegal manner.  

(H)       After being found innocent of a charge, an accused may not be
tried once again on the same charge.

(I)        Civilians may not be tried before a military tribunal.  Special
or exceptional courts may not be established.

(J)        Torture in all its forms, physical or mental, shall be
prohibited under all circumstances, as shall be cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment.  No confession made under compulsion, torture, or
threat thereof shall be relied upon or admitted into evidence for any
reason in any proceeding, whether criminal or otherwise.

 Article 16.

(A)       Public property is sacrosanct, and its protection is the duty of
every citizen.

(B)       The right to private property shall be protected, and no one may
be prevented from disposing of his property except within the limits of
law.  No one shall be deprived of his property except by eminent domain, in
circumstances and in the manner set forth in law, and on condition that he
is paid just and timely compensation.  

(C)       Each Iraqi citizen shall have the full and unfettered right to
own real property in all parts of Iraq without restriction.

Article 17.

            It shall not be permitted to possess, bear, buy, or sell arms
except on licensure issued in accordance with the law.

 

Article 18.

            There shall be no taxation or fee except by law.

Article 19.

            No political refugee who has been granted asylum pursuant to
applicable law may be surrendered or returned forcibly to the country from
which he fled. 

Article 20.

(A)       Every Iraqi who fulfills the conditions stipulated in the
electoral law has the right to stand for election and cast his ballot
secretly in free, open, fair, competitive, and periodic elections.

(B)       No Iraqi may be discriminated against for purposes of voting in
elections on the basis of gender, religion, sect, race, belief, ethnic
origin, language, wealth, or literacy.

Article 21.

            Neither the Iraqi Transitional Government nor the governments
and administrations of the regions, governorates, and municipalities, nor
local administrations may interfere with the right of the Iraqi people to
develop the institutions of civil society, whether in cooperation with
international civil society organizations or otherwise.

 }Article 22.

 }           If, in the course of his work, an official of any government
}office, whether in the federal government, the regional governments, the
}governorate and municipal administrations, or the local administrations,
}deprives an individual or a group of the rights guaranteed by this Law or
any }other Iraqi laws in force, this individual or group shall have the
right to }maintain a cause of action against that employee to seek
compensation for the }damages caused by such deprivation, to vindicate his
rights, and to seek any }other legal measure.  If the court decides that
the official had acted with a }sufficient degree of good faith and in the
belief that his actions were }consistent with the law, then he is not
required to pay compensation.
 
They will be governed by the rule of man, not law.  How much
power/prestige/ or money would a man need to have a judge decide that the
person acted in good faith and thought to be consistent with the law?  

}B)       It is a prerequisite for a member of the Presidency Council to
}fulfill the same conditions as the members of the National Assembly, with
the }following observations:

}(1)        He must be at least forty years of age.

}(2)        He must possess a good reputation, integrity, and rectitude.

Commenting on #2.  He must posses a good reputation?  According to whom?
He has to possess integrity?  Again, according to whom?  And as for
rectitude, the definition being: "Moral uprightness; righteousness. 
The quality or condition of being correct in judgment. 
The quality of being straight."  Again, according to whom?

What kind of garbage is that?  A person's reputation, integrity, and
rectitude?  By whose determination?  I'm sure that you could find someone
who thinks that Saddam fulfilled this criteria, and you could find others
that think that Ghandi didn't.  It is opinion.

}Article 43

}(B)       All judges sitting in their respective courts as of 1 July 2004
will }continue in office thereafter, unless removed from office pursuant to
this }Law.

}Article 47.

}            No judge or member of the Higher Juridical Council may be
removed }unless he is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or
corruption or }suffers permanent incapacity.  Removal shall be on the
recommendation of the }Higher Juridical Council, by a decision of the
Council of Ministers, and with }the approval of the Presidency Council.
Removal shall be executed immediately }after issuance of this approval.  A
judge who has been accused of such a crime }as cited above shall be
suspended from his work in the judiciary until such }time as the case
arising from what is cited in this Article is adjudicated.  }No judge may
have his salary reduced or suspended for any reason during his }period of
service.

So just try to remove a judge that has been hand picked.

I still believe that this Constitution is a charade.  The election is a
charade.  All belief that the Iraqis will be able to live their religion
the way it is currently being lived is also a charade.

I also do not believe that the United State's AKA Bush Administration is
just a benevolent organization setting up a form of government in the best
interest of the Iraqis, nor do I believe that the reason we are occupying
Iraq is for the good of their people.  I believe that we are there for
selfish purposes, and the rest is propaganda to make our people have
warm-fuzzies about the war.

Best wishes,
Melody