Constitutional Complaint against the Chairman of the House of Representatives
Republic of Somaliland
Constitutional
Complaint against the Chairman of the House of Representatives
Introduction:
He was accused of breaching several articles of the Somaliland Constitution and, as such, a Constitutional Complaint was filed to the Speaker of the House against him.
The accused, who has been absent in the Assembly since January 18, 2023, supported decisions made by the Committee of Elders that some regions in Somaliland belong to the Federal Government of Somalia.
He further accused the Committee and Elders for forcing these decisions upon him and accused the armed forces of committing crimes without providing any evidence for this. Furthermore, he said that national forces need to be withdrawn from the Sool region and underlined that he represents the people of Lasanood and will act in accordance with their wishes whether it is for peace or war. Therefore, a Constitutional Complaint is filed against the accused for breaching several articles of the Somaliland Constitution.
The first: He did not carry out his job as an elected member, whereas he had missed 20 successive sessions of the Assembly, without any regard for the conditions of his election.
He is also accused of breaching Article 38, which stipulates the objectives and tasks of the Somali Parliament, by failing to secure Somaliland and preserve its land, sea, and air independence. The finally accused under breaching Article 123, which deals with the principle of the Somaliland National Army, attributed to the National Army war and for supporting terrorist groups and anti-peace militants. Therefore, according to these violations and insistence by the accused individual not to pay attention to the Constitution and the unity of Somaliland, there are situations found as the conditions prescribed in Article 50 for the loss of membership in the House of Representatives .
Prayer of the request in front of the Constitutional Court: the application for acceptance of the opening of the Constitutional Case for the merits of the case, by referring to particular articles of the Judicial System Act.
Besides, it is prayed for the removal of the membership of the accused from the House of Representatives and declaring his seat vacant with arrangement for its replacement.
Supportive documents in the form of audio and video cassette of the interviews given by the defendant, a press conference conducted by the defendant and various certificates and documents issued by the government authorities have also been furnished. Fact of the Scenario: A constitutional complaint against the Chairman of the House of Representatives was filed for many violations against the Somaliland Constitution. The complaint, championed by the Speaker of the House, accused him of misconduct and failure to comply with the constitutional provisions. These accusations give rise for concern about the chairman's actions and the implications these might have on the integrity of the legislative body and adherence to the constitution in principle and responsibility.
The unconstitutionality issue is serious, and it thus demands that detailed attention is paid to the actions carried out by the chairman.
The purpose of the present complaint of unconstitutionality by the Speaker of the House of Representatives is to ensure that the infractions mentioned are investigated and as a way of ensuring that the Chairman assumes full responsibility for disregard of constitutional provisions.
The outcome of this complaint will determine the membership in the House of Representatives of the Chairman and will have significant implications for the efficiency and credibility of the institution. It is for this reason that the Constitutional Court will have to carefully weigh and consider the evidence and the violations alleged by the Applicants against the relevant articles of the Somaliland Constitution. This is the case to establish whether or not there has been misconduct on the part of the chairperson and whether such acts are in violation of constitutional duties and obligations. The constitutional complaint is an important mechanism in advancing the causes of justice, equality, and accountability before the legislative competencies in Somaliland. This chairman has been missing in the assembly since January 18, 2023. He issued a statement in absentia, giving nods to decisions passed by the Committee of Elders that some regions in Somaliland are to be under the Federal Government of Somalia.
He accused the Committee and Elders of imposing the said decisions and accused the armed forces of committing crimes without evidence of any kind.
More so, he called for the removal of national forces from Sool region threatening that he is the representative of Lasanood people and will work per their request which means even war. Analysis of the facts and laws (Rule of Law): Legal issues involved:
The constitutional complaint questions the defendant chairman violated several articles of the Somaliland Constitution.
These include Article 50, which relates to the loss of membership in the House of Representatives because of failure to fulfill elected duties and failure to attend consecutive sessions.
The complaint also alleges the breaches of Article 38, which prescribes the duties of the Somaliland Parliament with regard to safety, security, and independence, and Article 123, regarding the principle of the Somaliland National Army. Laws Applicable: In the process, the defendant chairman is accused of violating several articles in the Somaliland Constitution.
Firstly, Article 38: General provisions within the House of Representatives.
While determining the functions of the parliament, Article 38 safeguards the security, stability, and sovereignty of Somaliland.
To this end, the complaint reasoned that support by the accused Chairman for decisions claiming certain regions in Somaliland as belonging to the Federal Government of Somalia undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somaliland. It further brought into question his commitment to the duties set out in Article 38 and the implications his utterances have for the safety and security of Somaliland. Article 50 provides for Membership loss in the House of Representatives. According to Article 50, in case a member fails to fulfill the duties for which he or she was elected or is absent from consecutive sessions without a valid reason, then such a member's membership may be revoked.
The complaint is that the respondent Chairman has failed to attend the Assembly for a period of 20 continuous sessions without sufficient cause since January 18, 2023. This raises concerns about his compliance with the requirements outlined in Article 50 and what effect the absence might cause upon the functioning of the legislative body. Third, Article 123: The article speaks to the principles of the Somali National Army. From the complaint, the accused chairman has accused crimes committed by the armed forces without giving any evidence for such accusations to have been made. This indeed calls into question his adherence to the principles enshrined in Article 123 and/or his statement on the reputation and functioning of the National Army. Article 129, Fourth: Constitutional Oath demands that the elected member take an oath before continuing duties and ensuring the protection of the Constitution of Somaliland. In case the chairman is found in breach of the Constitution, it is questionable if he ever fulfilled the oath he took to uphold the rule of law.
In general, the alleged violations by the accused chairman do call for review in light of compliance with the Somaliland Constitution and the rule of law. The applicable laws include Article 38, Article 50, Article 123, and Article 129.
It is also worth noting that the Somaliland Constitutional Court is the highest court to which evidence and arguments have been presented in light of the constitutional complaint. This determination will be pivotal in so many aspects to ensure the rule of law, proper functioning of the legislature, and accountability.
The Court is thus of the view that indeed, there has been breaches of pertinent constitutional provisions to which the defendant chairperson is subject, proper legal consequences of which are deprivation of his membership in the House of Representatives.
This, in essence, makes the application of the relevant laws and adherence to the rule of law instrumental in properly dealing with this case at hand, ensuring that the proper function of government operations, as per its setups, is not disrupted, the rights of the individual citizens are not infringed upon, and the integrity of the legal regime is upheld in Somaliland.
Prepared by: Lawyer Yusuf Habib Hussein
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