First online workshop on options for a future Permanent Sudanese Constitution
In continuation of its previous endeavours supporting the Sudanese Republic on its way towards a new Constitution under the framework of the project Support to the Constitutional Reform Process in Sudan funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Max Planck Foundation implemented its first online workshop.
From 22 to 27 October 2020, the Foundation convened an inclusive group of Sudanese stakeholders representing the key actors within the constitutional reform in Khartoum, and the head of project and research fellows facilitated the discussions online from Heidelberg, Germany. The workshop was supported by Sudanese legal experts and the Foundation’s local consultant in Sudan and was also implemented with help from the Sudanese Ministry of Justice. The event was opened by HE Thomas Terstegen, the German Ambassador to Sudan.
During the various sessions, the Foundation’s Sudan Team discussed a variety of draft constitutional provisions to engage in the public discourse on constitutional matters and prepare for the future deliberations on a permanent constitution in the country with the participants. The drafted provisions were drawn from the various former Sudanese Constitutions, reflected the rich constitutional heritage of African States or were based on different constitutional systems around the world in line with the Foundation’s approach of comparative legal science.
In accordance with the Foundation’s guiding principles, the workshop was distinctly aimed at providing a neutral forum for technical discussions on the wide range of representative viewpoints regarding the inclusive constitutional reform process in Sudan. The workshop allocated specific sessions for discussions allowing ample opportunities for participants to share their views.
Despite the digital implementation, the new format allowed the participants and the experts to actively engage with each other and successfully continue the discussions on constitutional reform. The Foundation envisages the continued online implementation until a time when travel to the country is viable again.