Chair of African Legal Studies strengthens teaching and research cooperations in Somalia

Led by Prof. Dr. Thoko Kaime, the Chair of African Legal Studies (ALS) at UBT has established a productive and close collaboration with SIMAD University in Mogadishu in Somalia. The institution - the leading University in terms of research and outreach in Somalia - has made it a priority to empower young people in all situations of life, especially women. The collaboration between SIMAD and UBT comprises joint teaching and research activities: Since the winter term 2022/23, SIMAD Law Students are able to participate in the Chair‘s courses online and are currently working on fully integrating all courses into their law programme. Additionally, the Chair has managed to launch the Asli Ahmed Award on the African Legal Studies Blog, rewarding outstanding articles by Somali Scholars around legal developments in the Federal Republic of Somalia. In the endeavours to strengthen this special cooperation, team members of the Chair of African Legal Studies visited Somalia twice in 2022 and in turn, a delegation of SIMAD University was invited to visit UBT in June 2023.

While during the upcoming visit the parties will discuss their joint research endeavors, another topic will also be on the top of the agenda: in September 2022, ALS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Somalia to support the upcoming constitutional review of Somalia’s current provisional Constitution in an advisory role through the provision of constitutional comparative law expertise.

Since its entry into force in 2012, the provisional Constitution has provided a framework for governance and shaping statehood in Somalia. It sets out the basic structure of the state and its institutions. However, the provisional Constitution comes with a number of weaknesses, such as the lack of a precise distribution of powers and responsibilities between the federal states and the federal government. Overall, the basic ideas of the provisional Constitution of political parties territorial constituencies and an effective check and balances system have not been achieved. In the past, this has led to coordination issues and even open conflicts. The absence or dysfunctionality of certain safeguarding mechanisms, such as a stable and reliable constitutional jurisdiction and, with regard to the acceptance of the population, the absence of functioning guarantees of justice, have caused the provisions of the Constitution to run into the void in many areas. In view of these challenges, the new presidency under Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has set out to initiate a constitutional review to address the current weaknesses of the Constitution. This process will be based on Article 137 of the provisional Constitution, which provides for a referendum at the end of such a review process. Additionally, this includes an agreement on the structure of federalism as well as safeguarding laws, such as the revision of the electoral law and the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court Act.