Designing Constitutions

The Constituent Assembly has come into existence for the drafting of a new Constitution for Nepal. People's participation will be valued, at part with those of the experts, to incorporate all kinds of voices while writing the document.
Here are some questions that will almost certainly be dealt with while writing the new Constitution:

1. Will there be a head of state and what will the functions of that office be?
2. What type of system of government will there be?
3. What will the structure and the role of the legislature (parliament)?
4. What system of federalism/devolution/decentralisation will there be?
5. What will be the structure of the legal system - the courts, including the independence of the judiciary?
6. What will be the human rights of the people protected in the constitution, and what will be the mechanisms to protect those rights?
7. How will the system of government set up by the constitution be inclusive?
8. Who should be, or be entitled to be, citizens of Nepal?
9. How can the government and all sorts of public officers be made accountable, so that the people of Nepal are served by individuals who are honest, competent and effective?
10. What can the constitution do to require or encourage government policies that are fair and effective, and deal with the important problems of the nation?
11. What should the constitution say about political parties?
12. How can the security sector, including the army and police, be subject to effective civilian control, without unnecessary restrictions?
13. What extra powers should be given to the government in case of real emergency, and how should those powers be approved and regulated?
14. How should the new constitution be written and structured so that it is clear, is easy for professionals to use, and as far as possible can be understood by ordinary people?
15. How should the new constitution be protected against violation by government or others, and against being changed without good reason?

Many of these questions are complex, or at least answering them will be a complicated matter. And some of them intersect with other questions: for example, the question of inclusion (question 7) is relevant when considering most of the other questions. And many of the issues raised above themselves involve discussion of other matters, some of which are:

1. Can or should the constitution deal with issues of land, and land reform and what should it say?
2. Should the constitution have provisions about the environment?
3. Should the constitution have provisions about natural resources?

In fact, it is possible to ask questions about the new constitution in different ways; for example, in terms of what the constitution can do for different sectors of the community:

1. Women
2. Children
3. Dalits
4. Persons with Disability
5. Ethnic Minorities
6. The Poor
7. Sexual Minorities

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