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Back to the Forum Archives Recently, I visited the official website of Iraq's Provisional Authority. That is where I found this overview of that authority. Apparently it operates under the jurisdiction of the United Nations and under the direct authority of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III of the United States. I also found the English language version of the interim constitution of Iraq officially called the "Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period." More on that below. First the Provisional Authority. Coalition Provisional Authority: The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) is the name of the temporary governing body which has been designated by the United Nations as the lawful government of Iraq until such time as Iraq is politically and socially stable enough to assume its sovereignty. The CPA has been the government of Iraq since the overthrow of the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and his deeply corrupt Baath Regime in April of 2003. In addition to protecting Iraqi territorial integrity and working to provide security to the Iraqi people, the CPA has committed itself to rebuilding all aspects of Iraqi Infrastructure so that, upon turnover to the first democratically elected government Iraq has ever known, that government will assume authority over a country ready, both internally and externally, to function economically, provide basic services to its citizens, provide for its own defense, and to play a responsible role in the international community of nations. The Authority is a coalition of many Nations from all over the world, encompassing every major religion and ethnic group. It is led by the United States and the United Kingdom. A list of the nations which are part of this multi-national coalition of states which have undertaken to play a role in the financial, material and military assistance of Iraq is available here (The CPA website.) According to the Agreement of November 15th, 2003 between the CPA and the Iraqi Governing Council, by June 30, 2004 the new transitional administration will be recognized by the Coalition, and will assume full sovereign powers for governing Iraq. Upon this transfer, the CPA will dissolve.
Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority: Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III was named Presidential Envoy to Iraq on May 6, 2003 and in this capacity is the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority. During his 23-year State Department career, Ambassador Bremer served as Special Assistant or Executive Assistant to six Secretaries of State. His overseas assignments have included service at the Embassies in Afghanistan and Malawi and service as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Norway. President Reagan named him as Ambassador to the Netherlands in 1983 where he served for three years. Ambassador Bremer also served as Executive Secretary of the State Department and was President Reagan's Ambassador at Large for Counter Terrorism. Ambassador Bremer is one of the world's leading experts on crisis management, terrorism and homeland security. In September 1999, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, appointed him Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism. In June 2002, President Bush appointed Ambassador Bremer to the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. He has also served on the National Academy of Science Commission examining the role of Science and technology in countering terrorism and chaired a Heritage Foundation study, "Defending the Homeland". During his career, Ambassador Bremer has received the State Department Superior Honor Award, two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards and the Distinguished Honor Award from the Secretary of State. He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and The Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to being in Iraq, Ambassador Bremer was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh Crisis Consulting Company, a crisis management firm owned by the financial services firm Marsh & McLennan. From 1989 to 2000, he was Managing Director of Kissinger Associates, a strategic consulting firm headed by former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Before rejoining government, Ambassador Bremer had been a director of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Akzo Nobel NV, the Harvard Business School Club of New York and The Netherland-America Foundation and a Trustee of the Economic Club of New York. Ambassador Bremer is the Founder and President of the Lincoln/Douglass Scholarship Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit organization that provides high school scholarships to inner city youths. Ambassador Bremer received his BA from Yale University, a CEP from the Institut D'Etudes Politiques of the University of Paris, and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. His languages are French, Dutch, and Norwegian.
The Interim Constitution: I have made a brief read of this document. Although I will not claim expertise on the subject, this constitution seems to be modeled on the Constitution of the United States. It is a bit longer however. The constitution of the United States including the 27 amendments is contained in 17 WordPerfect pages. The constitution of Iraq with no amendments requires 23 pages. We can hope it will not require amendments since it seems to include in its main body the basic provisions of our Bill of Rights. Here is the preamble. The people of Iraq, striving to reclaim their freedom, which was usurped by the previous tyrannical regime, rejecting violence and coercion in all their forms, and particularly when used as instruments of governance, have determined that they shall hereafter remain a free people governed under the rule of law. These people, affirming today their respect for international law, especially having been amongst the founders of the United Nations, working to reclaim their legitimate place among nations, have endeavored at the same time to preserve the unity of their homeland in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity in order to draw the features of the future new Iraq, and to establish the mechanisms aiming, amongst other aims, to erase the effects of racist and sectarian policies and practices. This Law is now established to govern the affairs of Iraq during the transitional period until a duly elected government, operating under a permanent and legitimate constitution achieving full democracy, shall come into being. There are things I like and things I don't like in this document. For example I really liked article 4 of chapter 1. The system of government in Iraq shall be republican, federal, democratic, and pluralistic, and powers shall be shared between the federal government and the regional governments, governorates, municipalities, and local administrations. The federal system shall be based upon geographic and historical realities and the separation of powers, and not upon origin, race, ethnicity, nationality, or confession. On the other hand, I was dismayed that this constitution establishes a state religion in article 7 of the same chapter. That is a bit scary. Islam is the official religion of the State and is to be considered a source of legislation. No law that contradicts the universally agreed tenets of Islam, the principles of democracy, or the rights cited in Chapter Two of this Law may be enacted during the transitional period. This Law respects the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice. Even with my few criticisms, I find this to be a very sound
document. I see no reason why it could not stand as the permanent
constitution of Iraq simply by removing the interim provisions.
This constitution is much too long to post as a Forum article,
however, some of you may wish to peruse it. Therefore I have
posted it in the Forum Archive as a separate item under the name
Iraq's Constitution.
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