The workshop reviewed the findings of the Needs Assessment Study on Legislative Drafting in Somaliland with Representatives of the Somaliland Parliament and the Executive Agencies.
The workshop conducted in Hargeisa, Somaliland, on 8-11 November 2023, brought together members of parliament, senior legal advisors and experts in the Somaliland Parliament, as well as executive agencies to present and discuss a Needs Assessment Study for a Manual on the Legislative Drafting Process in Somaliland. Representatives of the Solicitor General’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and Law Reform Commission also participated in the workshop.
During the workshop program, the participants explored the Needs Assessment Study prepared by the project team and reviewed the existing legal framework on law-drafting procedures in the Somaliland Parliament. By using examples from Somaliland’s legal-drafting experiences, the Foundation’s experts explained the legislative gaps from the perspective of the different stakeholders of the law-drafting process. Furthermore, the workshop addressed legislative and practical challenges in the law-drafting process, addressed the complexities of law initiation practices by the executive agencies, as well as problems related to the president’s power of assent to laws and promulgation procedures. The presentation was followed by working group discussions on the way forward for improving law-drafting practices in Somaliland.
After the workshop, the project team held meetings with the parliamentary leadership and administration, and the Solicitor General’s office in Hargeisa.
The workshop was implemented in the framework of the Foundation’s EU-funded project in Somaliland, Legal Capacity Building and Advice for the Legislative Branch of Government in Somalia.