International assistance

The role of international or external support for national processes of constitution building has an instrumental impact on the design of these processes and the institutional choices that ultimately are framed in constitutions.

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Training programme

The new Constitution Builders CONNECT Resource – is an interactive training tool that reinforces sharing experiences as a means to building the capacity of practitioners to solve some of the dilemmas that they face in constitution building.

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Handbook

The Handbook reviews and discusses some of the institutional and procedural design choices that practitioners have recently considered during contemporary constitution building.

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Issue papers

Selected issues are considered at length based on emerging and ongoing dialogues among practitioners and specialists.

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Multimedia

A collection of multimedia resources from and about constitution-building processes.

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Web links

The web links provide a comprehensive list of relevant organizations and partners working in constitution building and related subjects.

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§ Note: this is background material. The final handbook is available online in PDF format.

The ability of the legislature to appoint or approve the appointment of the government’s ministers represents another measure of power. By appointing or approving, the legislature has the opportunity to influence the character of the executive.

Legislative Appointment
In some countries, the legislature itself appoints ministers. More information

Provisions

The Constitution of Mongolia (1992, as Amended to 2001) Article Twenty-Five1. The State Great Hural may consider on its own initiative any issue pertaining to domestic and foreign policies of the country. It shall be the sole competent body for the following questions:6) Appointing, replacing or removing the Prime Minister, members of the Government and other bodies responsible and accountable to the State Great Hural as provided for by law;
Legislative Involvement
A lesser degree of influence over the appointment of ministers usually exists in the form of cooperation with the executive. Some legislatures exercise appointment powers but do so on the recommendation of the executive. According to other constitutions, the executive appoints ministers in proportion to the representation of parties in the legislature. Other provisions require a minister nominated by the executive to receive approval from the legislature. More information

Provisions

Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (1991, as Amended to 2003)Article 84The National Assembly:6. Elects and dismisses the Prime Minister and, upon his proposal, the Council of Ministers; makes changes in the Government upon the proposal of the Prime Minister;The Constitution (Amendment) Act 1997 of the Republic of the Fiji Islands (1997, as Amended to 1998) Article 99 Appointment of other Ministers(1) The President appoints and dismisses other Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.(4) Subject to this section, the composition of the Cabinet should, as far as possible, fairly represent the parties represented in the House of Representatives.(5) In establishing the Cabinet, the Prime Minister must invite all parties whose membership in the House of Representatives comprises at least 10% of the total membership of the House to be represented in the Cabinet in proportion to their numbers in the House.(6) If the Prime Minister selects for appointment to the Cabinet a person from a party whose membership in the House of Representatives is less than 10% of the total membership of the House, that selection is deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be a selection of a person from the Prime Minister’s own party. …Constitution of Ireland (1937, as Amended to 2002)Article 13.1. 1 The President shall, on the nomination of Dáil Éireann, appoint the Taoiseach, that is, the head of the Government or Prime Minister.2 The President shall on the nomination of the Taoiseach with the previous approval of Dáil Éireann, appoint the other members of the Government.

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (1982, as Amended to March 14, 2004)Article 62The National People’s Congress exercises the following functions and powers:5. To decide on the choice of the Premier of the State Council upon nomination by the President of the People’s Republic of China, and to decide on the choice of the Vice-Premiers, State Councilors, Ministers in charge of Ministries or Commissions and the Auditor-General and the Secretary-General of the State Council upon nomination by the Premier;Article 80The President of the People’s Republic of China, in pursuance of decisions of the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, promulgates statutes; appoints and removes the Premier, Vice-Premiers, State Councilors, Ministers in charge of Ministries or Commissions, and the Auditor-General and the Secretary-General of the State Council; confers state medals and titles of honor; issues orders of special pardons; proclaims entering of the state of emergency; proclaims a state of war; and issues mobilization orders.

Legislative Approval of Government as a Whole
A legislature that does not have the power to approve or appoint individual ministers may, nevertheless, be empowered to approve the government as a whole. This is a weaker form of the ability to appoint or approve each minister individually but still affords the legislature a degree of influence. More information

Provisions

The Constitution of Romania (1991, as Amended to 2003)Article 85 Appointment of Government1. The President of Romania designates a candidate for the post of Prime Minister and appoints the Government on the basis of a vote of confidence from Parliament.…

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No Appointment Power
Some legislatures lack the ability to appoint or approve ministers. In such cases the executive usually exercises the power to appoint ministers independently. More information

Provisions

The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile (1980, as Amended to 2005) Article 32Special powers of the President of the Republic are:7. To appoint and remove at will Ministers of State, Under-Secretaries, Superintendents and Governors; 

The Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia (1959, as Amended to 2008)Article 50The President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister and, on his proposal, the other members of the Government.

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