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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Constitutional reform in Tanzania: developing process and preliminary results |
Authors: | Masobo, Juliana Wanitzek, Ulrike |
Year: | 2015 |
Periodical: | Verfassung und Recht in Übersee (ISSN 0506-7286) |
Volume: | 48 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 329-368 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Tanzania |
Subjects: | constitutional reform constitutions bill drafting |
Abstract: | The United Republic of Tanzania, consisting of the two partners in the Union, Mainland Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika) and Zanzibar, is undertaking comprehensive constitutional reforms. The reform process, once finalised, will replace the current constitution, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977. The reform process has been carried on since the enactment of the Constitutional Review Act of 2011. Two successive drafts for a new constitution were produced by the Constitutional Review Commission in 2013 followed by a Proposed Constitution which was produced by the Constituent Assembly in 2014. A referendum for validation of the Proposed Constitution has not yet been conducted at the time of writing this article. This article provides an overview of the reform process and its preliminary results. It starts with a brief historical background of constitution-making in Tanzania. The specific stages of the constitutional review process and selected provisions of the Constitution of 1977, the two Draft Constitutions of 2013 and the Proposed Constitution of 2014 are then compared with each other. The comparison includes the suggested structure of the Union between Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, national values, general constitutional principles such as the sovereignty of the people, the supremacy of the constitution and the separation of powers, the status of international and regional law, human rights, citizenship and the electoral process. This comparison shows that in some regards the Draft Constitutions and the Proposed Constitution made equally significant proposals for reform. However, some progressive provisions contained in the Draft Constitutions were not retained in the Proposed Constitution. The article discusses these points of contention. [Journal abstract] |