Capacity Building and Legal Advice for the Somali Federal Parliament (2017-18)

In continuation of the Foundation’s work in supporting the Somali Constitutional Review and Implementation Process from 2013 to 2016, the Max Planck Foundation is currently implementing a follow-up project entitled “Capacity Building and Legal Advice for the Somali Federal Parliament (2017-18).” The project is funded by the European External Action Service and will run from 1 February 2017 to 30 June 2018. The project continues to support the Somali Federal Parliament through capacity building activities and the provision of technical legal advice and comparative research on constitutional and public law questions, which are of relevance to the Somali constitutional review and implementation process.

The first project component focuses on legal and technical support for the Speakers’ Offices of the Somali Federal Parliament. Building on the Foundation’s long time engagement with the Office of the Speaker of the House of the People of the Somali Federal Parliament, this component also includes support to the newly established Office of the Speaker of the Upper House.

The second project component provides continued legal and technical support to the constitutional review process in Somalia. The Max Planck team particularly assists those selected bodies of the Somali Federal Parliament which are involved in the constitutional review process, including the Offices of the Speakers and the Joint Constitutional Review Committee.

The third project component takes forward the Max Planck Foundation’s support to legislative drafting in Somalia. Upon instruction of the Offices of the Speakers, the Foundation conducts reviews of draft legislation and provides accompanying comparative legal research for relevant parliamentary committees entrusted with the drafting of implementing legislation.

The fourth project component involves the organisation of a series of capacity-building workshops for selected Members of Parliament in Mogadishu. These workshops address a number of Somali constitutional law topics from a comparative perspective and aim at improving the understanding of Members of Parliament of the applicable constitutional framework.