19 Nov 01 22:13 East Timor: Draft Constitution Almost Ready

The partial draft of East Timor`s future constitution is practically ready, despite at least 15 articles still being debated by one of the four thematic groups of the Constituent Assembly.

The Systematization and Harmonization Commission of Dili`s Constituent Assembly announced Monday that it had almost finished drafting the emerging nations`s first constitution. The Commission has based its working draft on the reports prepared by thematic Committees I, III and IV, and on a preliminary report by Committee II - on the Organization of Political Power - which is still being debated.

The Constituent Assembly discussed Monday the delay in the development of the constitution after Committee II reported that it still has 15 articles to complete before submitting its final report.

The speaker of the Constituent Assembly, Lu-Olo, underlined the urgency of the constitutional development process, emphasizing that the UN Security Council has agreed that UNTAET should transfer its sovereignty to the East Timorese government on May 20, 2002.

CJB -Lusa-

see full text of Draft Constitution (large PDF files) English, Portuguese

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