Second training-of-trainers workshop for SomLaw legal advisors.

The Foundation trains Somali legal advisors on pertinent issues of the Somali constitutional review process.

The Foundation held the second training-of-trainers workshop under the project `Strengthening the Role and the Impact of the Somali Federal Parliament in the Somali Constitutional Review Process’ in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25 to 29 September 2024. This workshop was held for lawyers of the Foundation’s local implementation partner, SomLaw, the Somali Center for Rule of Law and Good Governance, on comparative constitutional law topics relevant to the Somali constitutional review process.

During the five-day workshop, participants explored various topics of relevance to the constitutional review process in Somalia, among them federal member State formation and acquisition; intergovernmental relations in a federal system; organisation of the judiciary in a federal system and others.

For each of these topics, the latest political agreements and draft constitutional amendments developed on these issues were reviewed and the experiences of other countries in regulating these issues were discussed to draw lessons for the constitutional review process in Somalia. Materials were then developed, aiming to disseminate this information to honourable members of the Somali Federal Parliament, to enable them to make informed decisions on the way forward in the adoption process of draft constitutional amendments.

Each topic was thoroughly examined by the Foundation’s research fellows and SomLaw legal advisors. Participants shared their opinions as well, on the relevance and viability of the options prepared based on the comparative case studies in the Somali context. The materials developed will now be used for the local project activities to be implemented by SomLaw.

Based on the contextualised materials developed during the second training-of-trainers workshop, the project team will continue supporting the main stakeholders of the Somali constitutional review process under the project with the generous support of the European Union.