Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic
Encyclopedia
The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic, or TFC is the principle organizing document of the Somali Republic, written and approved in February 2004 in Nairobi
, Kenya
. It represents one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of the state, along with the Transitional Federal Parliament
(TFP), which is the legislative branch, and the executive branch under the President, known as the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG).
It should not be confused with a national constitution
, which is distinguished as a separate document (Chapter 4, Article 11, Section 3(a)).
A 30-member committee consisting of government officials and members of the citizenry is slated to table a new national constitution after first gathering local opinion on the issue. The new constitution is intended to, among other things, accord more powers to civilians. It will also allow the establishment of regional states like Puntland
based on Islam
ic principles.
government of Somalia (Article 1), and gives the government supremacy of law over the nation (Article 3). It defines Somalia (in Article 3) as having the following borders:
This puts a territorial contention with the self-declared autonomous state of the Republic of Somaliland, which has been operating as a de facto independent state, though it is not recognized internationally. It also includes the autonomous state of Puntland
.
Lastly, it defines a Supreme Court (Article 4) for address of any laws or acts in contravention of the Charter.
and describes the nature of the federal government
. It defines the scope and structure of the republic as a hierarchy (Article 11):
For example, Puntland
would qualify as a State Government, if it choose to remain so organized within this structure.
It also calls for a national census
to be conducted and a new Constitution
to be drafted by a Federal Constitution Commission, and for the Constitution to be approved by a national referendum
. It also defines a Ministry of Federal and Constitutional Affairs to implement such affairs.
Auxiliary organs are also called out: auditor general, attorney general
, accountant general, and Governor of Central Bank (Article 12).
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. It represents one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of the state, along with the Transitional Federal Parliament
Transitional Federal Parliament
The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
(TFP), which is the legislative branch, and the executive branch under the President, known as the Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
(TFG).
It should not be confused with a national constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, which is distinguished as a separate document (Chapter 4, Article 11, Section 3(a)).
A 30-member committee consisting of government officials and members of the citizenry is slated to table a new national constitution after first gathering local opinion on the issue. The new constitution is intended to, among other things, accord more powers to civilians. It will also allow the establishment of regional states like Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
based on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic principles.
Chapter 1
The Charter's first Chapter establishes the Transitional Federal Government as the sovereignSovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...
government of Somalia (Article 1), and gives the government supremacy of law over the nation (Article 3). It defines Somalia (in Article 3) as having the following borders:
(a) North; Gulf of AdenGulf of AdenThe Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
.
(b) North West; DjiboutiDjiboutiDjibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
.
(c) West; EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
(d) South south-west; KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
(e) East; Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
This puts a territorial contention with the self-declared autonomous state of the Republic of Somaliland, which has been operating as a de facto independent state, though it is not recognized internationally. It also includes the autonomous state of Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
.
Lastly, it defines a Supreme Court (Article 4) for address of any laws or acts in contravention of the Charter.
Chapter 2
- Declares MogadishuMogadishuMogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
as the capital, and grants Parliament rights to pass laws over its governance (Article 5). - Defines the
flag and 
emblem of Somalia (Article 6), which serve, along with the National Anthem and the Public Seal, as national symbols (Article 9). - Defines SomaliSomali languageThe Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
and ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
as the official national languages, and EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
as secondary languages (Article 7). - Defines IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as the national religion and shariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
as the basis of national legislation (Article 8).
Chapter 3
This chapter grants citizenship to all persons who were citizens of the Somali Republic at the time the Charter came into effect, and extends citizenship to all those who were born in the Somali Republic, or whose father is a citizen of the Somali Republic, so long as that did not conflict with other citizenships (Article 10).Chapter 4
This Chapter defines the government as a federationFederation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
and describes the nature of the federal government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
. It defines the scope and structure of the republic as a hierarchy (Article 11):
- Transitional Federal GovernmentTransitional Federal GovernmentThe Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
at the national level - State Governments where "two or more regions federate, based on their free will."
- Regional AdministrationsRegions of SomaliaSomalia is officially divided into eighteen administrative regions , which in turn are subdivided into districts. On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous states of Puntland and Somaliland...
- District administrationsDistricts of Somalia||Somalia is officially divided into eighteen administrative regions , which in turn are subdivided into districts....
For example, Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
would qualify as a State Government, if it choose to remain so organized within this structure.
It also calls for a national census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
to be conducted and a new Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
to be drafted by a Federal Constitution Commission, and for the Constitution to be approved by a national referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
. It also defines a Ministry of Federal and Constitutional Affairs to implement such affairs.
Auxiliary organs are also called out: auditor general, attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, accountant general, and Governor of Central Bank (Article 12).
Chapter 5
This Chapter deals with a number of personal civil rights:- Human Rights & Dignity (Article 14)
- Equality of the Citizens Before the Law (Article 15)
- Right to Life, Personal Liberty and Security (Article 16)
- Rights Relating to Legal Proceedings (Article 17)
- Labour (Article 18)
- Right to Assemble and Freedom to Strike (Article 19)
- Freedom of Information and Media (Article 20)
- Right to Establish Political Parties (Article 21)
- Right to Establish Social Organizations (Article 22)
- Political Asylum (Article 23)
- Education (Article 24)
- Protection of Family (Article 25)
- Social Welfare (Article 26)
- Economy (Article 27)
Chapter 6–10
The next several Chapters define the branches of government:- Chapter 6: Transitional Federal ParliamentTransitional Federal ParliamentThe Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
- Chapter 7: President
- Chapter 8: Executive Branch & MinistersTransitional Federal GovernmentThe Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
- Chapter 9: JudiciaryJudiciary of SomaliaThe Judiciary of Somalia as defined by the Transitional Federal Charter began its formative stages in early 2007 with the swearing in of the first jurists recognized by the Transitional Federal Government ....
- Chapter 10: Security and Defense ForcesMilitary of SomaliaThe Military of Somalia was, up until 1991, made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. The outbreak of the Somali Civil War during that year led to the de facto dissolution of the national armed forces. However, efforts to re-establish a regular armed force by a re-constituted...
Chapters 11–14
These sections cover policies regarding administration of the country as a whole.- Chapter 11: This chapter delineates policies for Somalia's land, natural resources, and environment.
- Chapter 12: Independent commissions and administrative committees
- Chapter 13: International and bilateral relations
Chapter 15–16
These sections invest Parliament with the power to amend the Charter, state that anything not covered by the Charter is to be governed by the 1960 Somalia Constitution, and defines other factors of the transitional period.Schedules
- Schedule I - Powers of the Transitional Federal Government
- Schedule II - Powers of the State Governments
- Schedule III - The reports of the five Reconciliation Committees of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference in Kenya 2002-2003.
- Schedule IV - List of the delegates, political leaders and political groups.
External links
- The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic (PDF)
- The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic free text