ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN CONSTITUTION Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, American invaded Afghanistan to aid the Northern Alliance Forces against the Taliban. In December of 2001, the Afghani Interim Authority (AIA) met in Bonn, Germany, to plan a new government. Once of the AIA’s first steps was to establish the Afghan Constitution Commission. The Commission was charged with drafting a new constitution. To do so, officials called a loya jirga. In Afghanistan, a loya jirga is a great gathering. The 2003 loya jirga yielded the January 2004 Afghani Constitution. Afghanistan’s Constitution consists of 160 articles and establishes the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the Afghani government. The Constitution also divides Afghanistan into thirty-four provinces and established a provincial council to govern each. The Constitution guarantees its citizens the rights of life, liberty, privacy, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and speech and freedom from torture. In addition, the Constitution provides a right to free education and health care for all citizens. Afghanistan’s Constitution
specifically adopts Islam as the state religion, but other religious groups are afforded free exercise of religion within the country.
EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY Afghanistan is led by the President of Afghanistan. The current president of Afghanistan is Hamid Karzai. The President is elected by popular vote for five year terms. The President is restricted to two terms in office. To be eligible to be elected president, a candidate for president of Afghanistan must be Muslim, an Afghan citizen born of Afghan parents, and have no criminal record. The president is also the commander-in-chief of Afghanistan’s armed forces. Afghanistan has two vice-presidents serving under the president. Currently they are Mohammad Qasim Fahim (first vice-president) and Karim Khalili (second vice-president).
LEGISLATIVE BODY Afghanistan’s National Assembly is comprised of two houses: the lower house, Wolesi Jirga (the House of the People), and the upper house, Meshrano Jirga (the House of Elders). The 250 members of the Wolesi Jirga are directly elected by district for five year terms. According to the Consitution, at least 64 delegates
must be female. The Kuchi Pashtun nomads, who are without a district, send 10 representatives to the Wolesi Jirga. The Wolesi Jirga is the primary law making body in Afghanistan. The Meshrano Jirga consists of 102 members. There are three ways in which one may become a member of the Meshrano Jirga: 34 members are elected by district councils for three-year terms, another 34 members are elected by provincial councils for four-year terms, and the final 34 members are appointed by the president for five-year terms. Half of those nominated by the president must be women, two must be disabled or impaired and two must be Kuchi. The Wolesi Jirga is the house responsible for making most of the law, and the Meshrano Jirga advises the Wolesi Jirga.
JUDICIAL SYSTEM Afghanistan’s Supreme Court, the Stera Mahkama, was created by the Constitution of Afghanistan to act as an independent judicial body. Justices are appointed by the President for ten year terms. Since its creation in 2004, the Afghani Supreme Court has returned numerous controversial, conservative decisions. These include decisions where the Court banned cable TV for anti-Islamic programming, banned women from singing on television, ruled that an abused child bride could not divorce her
husband, and ruled that the punishment for homosexuality is death. In 2006, President Karzai replaced some of the more extreme members of the Court with moderates. Afghanistan also has local and district courts that appeal to Courts of Appeal and High Courts.
IMPLEMENTATION OF UNITED NATIONS COUNTER-TERRORISM RESOLUTIONS Afghanistan has ratified eleven of the sixteen United Nations international legal instruments against terrorism. Ratified
Yet to be Ratified
The Aircraft Convention: 1963 Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft Ratified: April 15, 1977
Airport Protocol and Montreal Convention on Air Safety: 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation
The Unlawful Seizure Convention: 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft Ratified: August 29, 1979 The Civil Aviation Convention: 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Ratified: September 26, 1984 The Diplomatic Agents Convention:
2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation 2005 Protocol for the Suppression of
1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons Ratified: September 24, 1984 Hostages Convention: 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages Ratified: September 24, 2003 Nuclear Materials Convention: 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Ratified: September 12, 2003 Plastic Explosives Convention: 1991 Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection Ratified: October 1, 2003 Maritime Convention: 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the 2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation Ratified: September 23, 2003 Fixed Platform Protocol: 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf and the 2005 Protocol to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf Ratified: September 23, 2003 Terrorist Bombing Convention: 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings
Unlawful Acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the Continental Shelf Nuclear Terrorism Convention: 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism
Ratified: September 24, 2003 Terrorist Financing Convention: 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Ratified: September 24, 2003 Afghanistan has submitted two reports to the United Nations CounterTerrorism Committee regarding its status in implementing Resolutions 1373 and 1624. Both are brief and acknowledge that while there is no legislation and little else done on the matter at the moment, the country and transitional government will continue to work on the matter. CORRUPTION AND GOVERNANCE Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. On the global Corruption Perceptions Index, Afghanistan ranks 176th out of 178 countries. Sixty percent of respondents report that corruption has increased in the last three years. Not surprisingly with the decisions from the Afghani Supreme Court, the judiciary is seen as the most corrupt institution in Afghanistan. Sixty-one percent of Afghani citizens reported paying bribes in the past year. Afghanistan ranks below the 10th percentile for all of the Worldwide Governance Indicators. The voice and accountability indicator is the best, but it has declined in recent years. A bright spot for the government of Afghanistan is the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL).
The current Minister of MAIL is Asif Rahimi. Minister Rahimi is noted for his successful management practices and his vision for the government, and his strong stand against corruption in government.