Afghanistan Constitutional Law Research and Dialogues Series

AREU recently completed the “Afghan Constitutional Analysis and Dialogues” Project funded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). This was the first major study reflecting on a decade of the 2004 Constitution. The project examined the status and evolution of constitutional and legal debates ten years after the adoption of the Afghan Constitution and twelve years after the Bonn process. As part of the project AREU commissioned a series of papers examining key themes of the Constitution including separation of powers, electoral framework, and fundamental rights. Through this first phase of the constitutional research, focused and increasingly professional debates on constitutional reform were initiated. However, it has become apparent in recent times that further additional research needs to be undertaken into the 2004 Constitution. In particular, given that constitutional reform is back on the agenda, it is important that additional research is conducted with a view to inform future reform process. Additionally, there is a clear need to foster the capacity of Afghan academic and legal community interested in engaging in rigorous research into constitutional law issues. Therefore, with the similar approach to the completed project, AREU and USIP are continuing their collaboration to establish and support a Research and Dialogue series on the 2004 Constitution. The current project will once again recruit Afghan researchers and facilitate Afghan leadership in research to build a body of constitutional law literature in Afghanistan and enhance the capacity and knowledge of Afghan academia, legal professionals and Afghan policy makers on the constitutional issues in theory and practice.