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SOMALILAND ORGANISATION OF THE JUDICIARY LAW (Law no: 24/2003 as amended)
(To be updated shortly - Correct text of the final 60 articles law available below)
Background: This law was first passed by the House of Representatives in 2003, but has spent the last 5 years being stuck between the two House and the President. In the meantime the Judiciary had no choice but to use the various versions of the old laws and, in particular, the 1962 Law of the same name, as well as later laws which dealt with the grades of judges etc. In its latest version, which the President has returned to the House of Representatives, the latter has, finally, agreed on 16 March 2008, to accept all the amendments sought by the President. One of the provisions rejected by the President was the House proposal to ensure that the appointment and dismissal of all Supreme Court justices should be subject to confirmation by the House of Representatives. The Constitution currently sets such confirmation only for the Chief Justice and the President has therefore argued that the House proposal was “unconstitutional” whilst the House position was that as the constitution was silent on this point, but emphasises the independence of the judiciary, the proposal, far from being unconstitutional, in fact implemented and advanced an important constitutional principle. The House, in the end, endorsed the President’s changes on a lukework support of 23 for, 14 against and 8 abstaining. As the House could not muster the two thirds majority needed under Article 78(4) of the Constitution to overrule the President’s amendments, any smaller majority to reject them would have led to the whole Bill lapsing completely.
The House has also passed again on 22 March 2008 (when it rejected the amendments made by the House of Elders to) the Law on the Organisation of Juvenile Justice, and that Bill will now be going to the President for his consideration. It is our fervent hope that the Juvenile Justice Bill will not take 5 years to complete.
UPDATE April 2008: The Organisation of the Judiciary Law has finally finished the last main stage of its legislative journey on 16 March 2008 when the House of Representatives agreed to accept all the amendments sought by the President. The Bill has now finally come into force. A Presidential Decree No: 337 of 20 April 2008 stated that Article 10 of the Law has come into force, but does not mention the rest of the Law which he has accepted before. The House of Representatives has promulgated the Law and has has published it on its website.
Here is a pdf copy of the final SOMALILAND ORGANISATION OF THE JUDICIARY LAW (still numbered Law No: 24/03&06), as signed by the President on 20 April 2008. This copy also includes both the House final Resolution and the President’s Decree.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS ALSO A VERSION OF THE LAW WHICH CONSISTS OF 60 ARTICLES AND PRESIDENTIAL DECREES WHICH HAS ALSO BEEN CIRCULATED BY THE HOUSE. WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY THE PRESIDENCY THAT THE 49 ARTICLES VERSION (ABOVE) OF THIS LAW WAS THE FINAL ONE. This Law has taken a long time to finalise as it was initially passed in 2003.
A smaller pdf copy of the final law (posted before on this page before) is available here. SOMALILAND ORGANISATION OF THE JUDICIARY LAW Law No. 24/2003 as passed and signed into law by the President in Decree No. 337/042008 of 08/04/2008 (for a pdf copy - click here) Xeerkani waa siddii ugu dambeys Golaha Wakiiladu ku ansixiyeen fadhigiisii 15/3/2008 (Tixraac: Go’aan Gole: GW/KF-6/419/2008 oo 19/3/2008), Madaxeynuhuna saxeexay 08/04/2008 (Tixraac: JSL/DECM/249-763/042008) oo ah Dikriito M/Weyne Lr: 337/042008
JAMHUURIYADDA SOMALILAND XEERKA NIDAAMKA GARSOORKA (XEER LR. 24/2003)
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