The Introduction of Ex-Post Constitutional Review Procedures

Developments, Challenges and Application Perspectives in Morocco

In March 2018, the Moroccan Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional the draft organic law 18-65 on the Specific Judicial Review of Statues. This organic law shall specify the the 2011 Constitution, which introduced for the first time in the constitutional history of Morocco, a mechanism that allows any litigant to invoke the unconstitutionality of a law during a trial. The Council of Minister has presented in April 2019 a revised version to the Moroccan parliament for review.

Mapping Constitutional Control in the MENA Region

Recent Developments, Challenges and Reform Trends

The Rule of Law Programme Middle East / North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung organized an international symposium on recent developments, challenges and reform trends regarding constitutional control in the MENA region, that brought together the results of a series of expert meetings which the regional Rule of Law Programme, together with the Arab Association for Constitutional Law, has carried out over the course of the last two years. The symposium was held from 15th to 17th April 2019, in Beirut, Lebanon.

The New Competences of the Administrative Judge

Local Authorities and the Powers of Administrative Courts

At the occasion of the first anniversary of the regional first instance administrative chamber courts in Tunisia, the Rule of Law Programme Middle East / North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in cooperation with the Administrative Tribunal of Tunisia organized a two-day workshop, on April 1 and 2, 2019. The workshop held in Hammamet, Tunisia, focused on the newly regulated “local authorities and the powers of the administrative court”.

Impartiality of Judges and Social Media

Approaches, Regulations and Results

The impartiality of judges is among the fundamental principles of the rule of law and serves as a cornerstone for the public’s trust in the judiciary. While the emergence of social media may not have fundamentally changed the relation of judges, media and its impact on judicial impartiality, it certainly reached a new dimension.

Consitutional Dialogue 2018

High Courts and Councils, Data-base Development and Accessibility to Court Decisions

The Rule of Law Programme Middle East/North Africa organized the yearly Constitutional Dialogue held on December 17th in Beirut. The expert meeting focused on “High Courts and Councils, Data-base Development and Accessibility to Court Decisions” and gathered justices of high judicial courts and councils and representatives of related institutions from the MENA region to discuss the status quo, challenges and possibilities of reform related to the internal and external accessibility of court decisions.

Remuneration of Court Appointed Experts

Between 12 November and 14 December, 2018, the Rule of Law Program Middle East/North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung organized two expert meetings on the “Remuneration of Court Appointed Experts, and of Clerks’ Travel Expenses” as part of the continuous cooperation with the Lebanese Judicial Supreme Council. A committee composed of judges and legal experts from Lebanon and Germany gathered to examine existing standards for the remuneration of court appointed experts in Lebanon and Europe and elaborated on this basis a proposal for a fixed remuneration scale with the aim to foster a transparent and independent judiciary in Lebanon.

The Specific Judicial Review of Statutes Procedure before the German Federal Constitutional Court

Roundtable

On November 28th, 2018 the Rule of Law Program Middle East / North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung organized a Round Table on the topic of “The Specific Judicial Review of Statutes Procedure before the German Federal Constitutional Court”, which was held at the Constitutional Court of the State of Baden Württemberg in Stuttgart. This Round Table took place within a 5-day expert study visit for presidents and members of constitutional courts and councils from the Middle East and North Africa to key institutions for constitutional jurisdiction in Europe focusing on constitutional review procedures.

Role and Impact of Constitutional Courts in Relation to Other High Courts

Mapping Constitutional Control in the MENA Region (Part 5)

Between the 7th and 9th November 2018 the Rule of Law Program Middle East / North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung held a workshop on “Role and Impact of Constitutional Courts in Relation to Other High Courts.” It was organized in cooperation with the Arab Association for Constitutional Law (AACL), and marks the fifth expert meeting of the series on “Mapping Constitutional Control in the MENA Region.” Judges of constitutional and supreme courts, scholars and lawyers gathered to analyze and discuss jurisdictional conflicts and their impact on constitutional review in the MENA region.

Application of International Law in the Domestic Legal Order

Control of Treaties’ Constitutionality

From 25 to 27 October, 2018, the Rule of Law Program Middle East / North Africa of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung organized a workshop on the “Application of International Law in the Domestic Legal Order: Control of Treaties’ Constitutionality”. Legal experts, scholars and judges of international and constitutional law in the MENA region gathered to examine the role of international law in the constitutional order of several countries of the MENA region and Europe and to discuss regulatory frameworks and practices with regard to the Control of Treaties’ Constitutionality.

Constitutional History and Development of the Lebanese State

"Knowledge of the Past for the Future"

The Lebanese Republic, looking back on a rich history that shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity, has faced a variety of constitutional and political challenges. These challenges are partly related to the influence of foreign powers, the system of sectarian balance and to the tensions therein. Today, decades after having established a political system with a power-sharing mechanism based on sectarian communities, Lebanon is revisiting its constitutional history, searching for answers for its future development.