■ الترتيبات المؤقتة

Tunisia's newly elected Constituent Assembly last Saturday, 10 December adopted an interim constitution, following five days of deliberation. وسيعيد الدستور المؤقت تشكيل مؤسسات الدولة والسماح بتعيين حكومة جديدة. It also paves the way for the election of a new President of the Republic who must be at least 35 years of age, exclusively Tunisian and of the Muslim religion.

Libya’s draft interim constitution, which is designed to guide the country through the coming period until a permanent constitution is finalized and enters into force, is a fairly standard text for the Arab region. It is at times progressive (it provides for a number of social rights, including social security; article 8), and intrusive at others (it requires the state to encourage marriage; article 5). It calls for the institution of a multi-party democracy (article 4), but refers a number of vital issues to future legislation, leaving open the possibility that non-democratic practices may develop (it provides that the conditions under which a warrant for phone tapping can be obtained, and that rules on the organization of political parties will be determined by law; articles 13 and 15 respectively).

Southern Sudan’s Legislative Assembly has adopted an interim constitution ahead of the official declaration of independence from Sudan on Saturday 9 July. The interim charter, which has been long in the making, in anticipation of independence, will be the fundamental law of the country, until a permananet charter can be drafted. A constitutional committee is due to be set up during the interim period for this purpose, but is not exactly clear yet when this shall happen.