August 10, 2003

We the Peoples; Awaiting the Iraqi Framers, A World of Constitutional Lessons

By JOHN D. THOMAS

IRAQ is an ancient land, but it is also a new country. And what does every nascent nation need first and foremost? A new constitution, which is exactly what the recently formed 25-person Iraqi Governing Council is in the process of writing.

''The Iraqi Governing Council is meeting regularly,'' President Bush said in a White House speech two weeks ago. ''Soon representatives of the people will begin drafting a new constitution and free elections will follow. After decades of oppression, the people of Iraq are reclaiming their country and are reclaiming their future.''

Codifying that future will be no easy task, and the Governing Council will obviously look to the American Constitution for inspiration. But the world is full of constitutions new and old -- some eloquent, some terse -- that guarantee a citizen's right to everything from life and liberty to a living wage and a clean environment. These, too, might serve as guides for the Iraqi framers.

An Internet site at The University of Bern in Switzerland features English translations of many of the world's constitutions (www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/home.html), from which the following excerpts were gathered.

One reason the United States gave for invading Iraq was to end the government's torture and killing of its citizens. Such behavior is outlawed by Article 46 of Azerbaijan's Constitution, ''Right to Defend the Honor and Dignity'': Nobody must be subject to tortures and torment, treatment or punishment humiliating the dignity of human beings. Medical, scientific and other experiments must not be carried out on any person without his/her consent.

The Algerian Constitution seeks the same end, but takes a blunter approach in Article 22, ''Abuse of Power'': Power abuse is repressed by the law.

Most constitutions are liberal and progressive in doling out rights. In some instances, however, as with China's Article 41, ''Freedom of Speech,'' the rights are amply qualified and, given the country's track record, appear to be more for show than anything else.

1. Citizens of the People's Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state organ or functionary. Citizens have the right to make to relevant state organs complaints and charges against, or exposures of, any state organ or functionary for violation of the law or dereliction of duty; but fabrication or distortion of facts for the purpose of libel or frame-up is prohibited.

2. The state organ concerned must deal with complaints, charges or exposures made by citizens in a responsible manner after ascertaining the facts. No one may suppress such complaints, charges and exposure, or retaliate against the citizens making them.

Protecting the environment is becoming a more important concern around the world, and that is reflected in a number of constitutions. In Section 41 of Argentina's Constitution: All inhabitants are entitled to the right to a healthy and balanced environment fit for human development in order that productive activities shall meet present needs without endangering those of future generations. . . . The entry into the national territory of present or potential dangerous wastes, and of radioactive ones, is forbidden.

The language of some constitutions can be more poetic than practical, although something is surely lost in the translation. Consider Article 24, ''Right to Honor and Reputation,'' of Ethiopia's Constitution: Everyone has the right to recognition every where as a person.

Many constitutions deal with the prospect of war and the protection of the state. On this topic, the exiled government of Tibet takes a decidedly pacifist approach in Article 7, ''Renunciation of Violence and the Use of Force'': Future Tibet shall remain a zone of peace and shall strive to disengage itself in the production of all destructive weapons, including nuclear and chemical; and, currently refrain from the use of all offensive methods as a means to achieve the common goal of Tibet, or for any other purpose.

In the United States Constitution, the right to a living wage is not explicitly addressed, unlike in many other constitutions. In India's, Article 43 is clear on the matter: The state shall endeavor to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the state shall endeavor to promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural areas.

The South Korean Constitution, however, reminds would-be complainers that with rights come responsibilities. From Article 32, ''Work'': All citizens have the duty to work.

The concept of work and compensation is handled in an entirely different fashion in Iran's Constitution. From a section of its preamble, titled ''The Economy Is a Means, Not an End'': In strengthening the foundations of the economy, the fundamental consideration will be fulfillment of the material needs of man in the course of his overall growth and development. This principle contrasts with other economic systems, where the aim is concentration and accumulation of wealth and maximization of profit. In materialist schools of thought, the economy represents an end in itself, so that it comes to be a subversive and corrupting factor in the course of man's development. In Islam, the economy is a means, and all that is required of a means is that it should be an efficient factor contributing to the attainment of the ultimate goal.

While the Equal Rights Amendment never passed in America, the topic of women's equality is a subject other nations have formalized, including Italy, in Article 37, ''Equality of Women at Work'': Working women are entitled to equal rights and, for comparable jobs, equal pay as men. Working conditions have to be such as to allow women to fulfill their essential family duties and ensure an adequate protection of mothers and children.

Unlike the United States, many international constitutions contain specifics about national symbols, as in Article 7 of Nepal's Constitution: The rhododendron arboreum shall be the national flower, crimson color shall be the national color, the cow shall be the national animal and the lophophorus shall be the national bird of Nepal.

Privacy is covered in many constitutions. In Russia's, however, it seems as if the document protects it in a way that is almost impossible to enforce. From Article 24, ''Data Protection'': It is forbidden to gather, store, use and disseminate information on the private life of any person without his/her consent.

Opponents and proponents of abortion in the United States have long debated adding something to the Constitution on the topic. In Madagascar, the Constitution makes it very clear where the state stands on the issue in Article 19, ''Health, No Abortion'': The State shall recognize every individual's right to protection of his health, starting from conception.

In the end, religion will probably be the most prickly area for Iraq's framers. The American advisers, presumably in favor of some semblance of separation between church and state, may well hope that Fiji remains off the Governing Council's radar. In Section 5 of their Constitution, the Fijians try to have it both ways: Although religion and the state are separate, the people of the Fiji Islands acknowledge that worship and reverence of God are the source of good government and leadership