BREAKING NEWS ~ Agreement reached on Iraq constitution, ready for referral

[sabra]

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/breaking-news-agreement-reached-on.php

BREAKING NEWS ~ Agreement reached on Iraq constitution, ready for referral to parliament

AP is reporting that a Shiite member of Iraq's constitutional committee is saying that an agreement, on all but two issues, will be referred to Iraq's National Assembly. As of Monday morning, the committee charged with drafting the Iraqi constitution had reached agreement on most of the contested issues, but had not yet resolved questions of federalism , the role of Islam and certain other issues. The draft constitution must be submitted to the National Assembly by the end of the day or an extension of the drafting period must be approved by parliament, the president, and his two deputies.

1:38 PM ET - Nasar al-Rubaie has said that the draft constitution will be handed over to the National Assembly late Monday evening, leaving the parliament to resolve the two outstanding, and so far undisclosed, issues. AP has more.

[Maestro]

1. And if they get a constitution, I am just wondering

what sort of reasoning the Bushites will use to justify remaining there.

[xxqqqzme]

2. '...all but two issues....

questions of federalism , the role of Islam and certain other issues....' So they R turning in what? their minutes of the meetings? a memo?

[cthrumatrix]

10. they had too...otherwise the coucil would DESOLVE by 8/15

so they agree to a draft with no meat...otherwise they lose thier jobs

[Frederik]

3. um

"but had not yet resolved questions of federalism , the role of Islam and certain other issues"

Which means that none of the really contentious issues have been resolved.

[sabra]

4. bingo!

[Swamp Rat]

7. But hey, at least they'll solve the "no burkas" problem.

Yaay! Theocracy for everyone! :eyes:

[Junkdrawer]

11. We Have a Constitution! (...but the small problem of division of powers..

has been left for a future date.)

:rofl:

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. that "certain other issue" is WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

:(

[leftchick]

6. It is a constitution written by the USA....

The average Iraqi is not fooled. Notice our US Ambassador to Iraq Zalamay the fixer in this photo.




In this photo made available by the Iraqi presidential press office, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani(3rd L) speaks with former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi(2nd L) as others continue with talks on the drafting of the new Iraqi constitution during a meeting in Baghdad. The drafting of Iraq's constitution headed for a nail-biting finish as leaders struggled for a last-minute consensus on differences with the ousted Sunni Arab elite over their rejection of federalism(AFP/HO-IPPO)

[Azathoth]

8. "...federalism, the role of Islam and certain other issues..."

That's sort of like saying "We've agreed upon a Bill of Rights, except for a couple of small issues like free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms."

[Just Me]

9. Great!! We can now leave. Right?

After all, there is a petition signed by a bunch of Assembly members requesting the USA to withdraw.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Yes what?

:shrug:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

13. CNN this morning said the government would be dissolved if

they can't agree on all constitutional provisions by midnight tonight, Iraqi time. In that case, they would have to start all over again with the election process. Anyone hear this?

[enigma000]

15. Article 61 of TAL

If they fail to approve the draft constitution or give themselves more time by midnight Iraq time the government falls. New election & more purple fingers.

LAW OF ADMINISTRATION FOR THE STATE OF IRAQ FOR THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 8 March 2004

Article 61.
(A) The National Assembly shall write the draft of the permanent constitution by no later than 15 August 2005.
(B) The draft permanent constitution shall be presented to the Iraqi people for approval in a general referendum to be held no later than 15 October 2005. In the period leading up to the referendum, the draft constitution shall be published and widely distributed to encourage a public debate about it among the people.
(E) If the referendum rejects the draft permanent constitution, the National Assembly shall be dissolved. Elections for a new National Assembly shall be held no later than 15 December 2005. The new National Assembly and new Iraqi Transitional Government shall then assume office no later than 31 December 2005, and shall continue to operate under this Law, except that the final deadlines for preparing a new draft may be changed to make it possible to draft a permanent constitution within a period not to exceed one year. The new National Assembly shall be entrusted with writing another draft permanent constitution.
(F) If necessary, the president of the National Assembly, with the agreement of a majority of the members’ votes, may certify to the Presidency Council no later than 1 August 2005 that there is a need for additional time to complete the writing of the draft constitution. The Presidency Council shall then extend the deadline for writing the draft constitution for only six months. This deadline may not be extended again.
G) If the National Assembly does not complete writing the draft permanent constitution by 15 August 2005 and does not request extension of the deadline in Article 61(F) above, the provisions of Article 61(E), above, shall be applied.(