Constitution of Gandhara

The Constitution of Gandhara is the supreme law of Gandhara. The constitution was adopted by referendum on 4 October 1957, and went into force on 13 November of that year, replacing the Constitution of 1919. It delineates the national frame of government, and it includes a bill of rights. Gandhara does not have a separate constitutional court, but instead the constitutional judicial authority is delegated to the supreme court that rules on whether laws that are challenged conflict with constitutionally established rights and freedoms.

History

After the Constitutional Revolution of Gandhara, in which revolutionaries strove for political modernization, the first Gandhari Constitution was adopted in 1919. This constitution set up a multiparty system and a limited constitutional monarchy, in which the then ruling Emir of Gandhara, Rahimullah al-Mansur, would share his autocratic power with a bicameral parliament.

During the Gandhari Revolution of 1956–1957 the Gandhari monarchy was abolished, and the Arab Socialist Union of Gandhara proclaimed the current constitution stipulating the formation of an Arab republic. In 1990, a major revision of the constitution was undertaken in which the text of the constitution was modernized and new civil rights were added, along with a number of other changes (e.g. abolishing the death penalty under all circumstances and limiting the number of times that a person can be elected president).

See also

• Constitutionalism
• Government of Gandhara
• Politics of Gandhara