Minority Participation and New Constitutional Law

In this essay on the formation of recent constitutions, the author investigates issues emerging from the Iraqi constitution to argue that constitutional documents are best viewed as legal frameworks that have a particularity in an evolution inclusive of existing traditions & national objectives. Analysis of minorities & Iraq's constitution distinguish the particularity of Iraqi history, competing ethnic claims, & the tensions between Islamic law & international public participation rights of minorities. The author concludes that the debates require an extensive process of public consultation & awareness-raising that would include all of Iraq's differing communities to ensure the constitution is an instrument for human rights protection, & holding the government to account. J. Harwell