Start date: 2013 (2005 - 2012 at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law)
Areas of expertise: Public International Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Legislative and Constitutional Drafting, Legal Pluralism, Fundamental Principles of Governance, Access to Justice, Procedural Law of Institutions
Highlights: over 8 projects, including 25+ workshops

Overview
The Global Knowledge Transfer Working Group of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL) had been engaged in the Somali constitutional process since its early stages in 2004. Back then the adoption of the Transitional Federal Charter marked the beginning of a constitutional process aiming to end a decade of statelessness and anarchy haunting Somalia ever since the overthrow of the Siyad Barre regime in 1990/91. Since 2008, MPIL was part of an international consortium supporting the Transitional Federal Government with the drafting of a new constitution. Ever since this process concluded with the adoption of the Provisional Constitution in August 2012, Somalia is in the process of re-establishing functioning and effective government institutions and structures in the country based on the newly adopted Provisional Constitution.
In August 2012 a new Parliament was instituted, which subsequently elected a new President in September 2012. In October 2012 the President nominated a new Prime Minister and the Federal Parliament endorsed the new Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers in November 2012. The new Somali Federal Government acquired international recognition and significant support from international partner and donor countries. Nevertheless, Somalia currently faces tremendous challenges in re-establishing governmental services after more than 20 years of absence of functioning and effective central government institutions. In continuing the work of the MPIL in Somalia, the Foundation has been supporting the new Federal Government and Parliament and their international partners since 2013 on constitutional and legal aspects of the ongoing Somali state-building process.
Current project(s) in Somalia
- Capacity Building and Legal Advice for the Federal Member State Legislative Assemblies in Somalia
- Legal Capacity Building and Advice for the Legislative Branch of Government
Completed projects in Somalia since 2013
- Legal Capacity Building and Technical Support for the Somali Federal Parliament
- Capacity Building and Legal Advice on Political Decentralisation and Federalism in Somalia
- Federalism and Political Decentralisation in Somalia: Capacity Building and Technical Assistance to the Somali Federal Government, Federal Member States and the Government of Somaliland 2017-2018
- Capacity Building and Legal Advice for the Somali Federal Parliament (2017-18)
- Support to the Federalisation Process
- Support to the Constitutional Review and Implementation Process
- Activities to Support Somalia’s Constitutional Process
News Items
Foundation delivers workshops on ‘Minutes and Record Taking for Parliamentary Support Staff’
Workshops on the ‘Compatibility of Federal and State Laws’
The Foundation’s Activity Report 2022 is now available online
Workshops for Parliamentary Support Staff in Somalia
Foundation conducts workshops on the topic ‘Allocation of Powers and Competences in a Federal System’
Contact

Jan Amilcar Schmidt
Email:
Phone: +49 (0)6221 91404 61
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