Basic Structure of the Kyrgyz Constitution and Its Relevance for Decentralization and Self-Government

• Published in: Verfassung und Recht in Übersee 2008-01, Vol.41 (2), p.131-145
• Main Author: Scholler, Heinrich
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: Constitution; Constitutionalism; Constitutions; Decentralization; Democracy; Government; Kyrgyzstan; Legislative Bodies; Political Systems; Rights; Self-government; Structural analysis
• ISSN: 0506-7286

Since about ten years, Kyrgyzstan has started to develop an independent political system based on the constitution from May 1993. This constitution was oriented on Western ideals & models & gave a specific importance to decentralization of the political power & to local autonomy. It's of importance that the Kyrgyz parliament (Dschogorku Kenesch) was for the first time in the Kyrgyz history freely elected. Kyrgyzstan has a federal structure, in so far as seven regions (Oblast) were established. Kyrgyzstan is the first country of Central Asia which has organized democratic elections on the level of local autonomy. The result of the democratic realization of local power was naturally the stronger participation of the population in public affairs & the not expected or wanted demand of more democratic participation in all state activities. It is remarkable that the constitution itself has an own section, in which detailed rules on local autonomy are formulated. The article tries to compare the extent of rules concerning local autonomy in the Kyrgyz constitution with the sections or single guarantees with regard to local government on European countries. It is obvious, that the number of formulated constitutional rules increases in those countries which have changed to a democratic system & vertical decentralization after longer periods of centralized & undemocratic government. With regard to the guarantee of local autonomy, it might be questionable whether the guarantee can be considered to be a fundamental political right which can be brought to court or whether it's more a kind of political structure. A second problem could be the technique or theory that also other ordinary laws, which are established to realize local autonomy, participate in the constitutional quality of the institutional guarantee (article 91 to 95). Therefore, the property in the hand of local authorities is protected by the general guarantee of property, which is effective & valid not only in favor of the citizen or the foreigner but also for the local autonomy organization. On the other hand, human rights granted by the constitution are also granted with regard to local government, especially if it has to full fill duties & powers transferred from the state government to the local authorities. There are some other issues, which might be interpreted in favor of strengthening local autonomy, because they are granting vertical separation of powers. Also the representation of decentralized