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 vicepresident) 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
2005 Amendment to the
Convention on the Physical
Protection of Nuclear Material
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
Ratified UN Counter-Terrorism
Resolutions in column one and
unratified resolutions in column
two.ivil Aviation
Ratified: September 26, 1984
2005 Protocol to the Convention
for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of
Maritime Navigation
Ratified
Yet to be Ratified
The
Diplomatic
Agents
Convention:
1973
Convention
on
the
Prevention and Punishment of
Crimes Against Internationally
Hostages
1979
Protected Convention:
Persons
Ratified: September
International
Convention against
24,
the
Taking
1984 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
2005 Protocol for the
Suppression of 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
Yet to be Ratified
Terrorist Bombing Convention: 1997
International Convention for the
Suppression of Terrorist Bombings
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
Counter-Terrorism 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 forhis successful management
practices and his vision for the government, and his strong stand
against corruption in government.