This paper considers the options available for structuring the semi-presidential system under three headings: constitutional architecture; the distribution of executive powers; and security and emergency powers.

This paper appears as chapter 4 of International IDEA’s publication A Practical Guide to Constitution Building. It focuses on the design of the executive branch of government. The paper starts by setting out the various models of executive governments, including presidential, parliamentary and mixed systems. A discussion concerning the importance of design options for all political actors follows, along with a discussion of the importance of the political context within the state. Finally, the report discusses various design options for de-concentrating executive power.

This brief paper discusses the differences between parliamentary and presidential systems of government. &ampnbspThis paper identifies the crucial&ampnbspdistinction as the fact that under parliamentarism legislatures may remove the government via the approval of a vote of no-confidence.

This article, a chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Constitutional Law, provides and introductory description of the main systems of government in democratic countries that seek to promote the rule of law.

This article discusses concepts of identity and citizenship as they pertain to constitutions, arguing that in order to be stable and peaceful, states must be impartial as between the diverse groups of their population. This idea is applied to the context of Sudan, where it is suggested that identity issues can be further protected, and stability achieved, through the promotion of various governing constitutional principles: human rights, the prohibition of discrimination, the right to citizenship, recognition of differences, and federalism.

This handbook takes a closer look at the issue of statelessness and its relationship with the concept of nationality. It first sets out the international legal framework, including the 1954 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Person, which addresses statelessness, and then sets out the international human rights and regional treaties that inform the legal concept of nationality. Next it discusses how to identify stateless persons, including the standards of evidence and minimum standards of procedural fairness, as well as the best way to protect stateless persons.

This is an extract from an Al-Raida quarterly journal issue focusing on citizenship and gender in the Arab world. This extract is a fact sheet on nationality laws throughout the Arab world. The information in this fact sheet is drawn from Freedom House country profiles.

These extracts are from an Al-Raida quarterly journal issue focusing on citizenship and gender in the Arab world. The brief editorial offers a broad overview of the subject. The longer extracted chapter, "Gender and Citizenship in the Arab World," introduces the concepts of dependent and independent citizenship rights in the context of the complex web of loyalties often present in the Arab world.

This paper appears as chapter 3 of International IDEA’s publication A Practical Guide to Constitution Building. This paper focuses on the development of a human rights culture, defined as a culture in which society values human rights to the extent that most, if not all, official decisions aim to maximize these rights. The paper discusses how this culture is shaped by the constitution-building stage, by type of process used to frame the constitution, and the nature or type of the constitution. Next, the paper addresses building a human rights culture in a conflict affected state.

This primer explores the use of limatations clauses in constitutions, including their purpose, options for formulation, and considerations in their design and use.