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Welcome to the SOMALILAND LAW.COM
(and incorporating Somalilandlaw.org)
The aim of this website is to disseminate information about the Constitution and laws of the REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND. The full texts of the Constitution and some of the main laws are found here in English language, or in Somali, where no translation is currently available. The site will also contain news of the constitutional and legal developments in Somaliland, as well as commentaries and articles.
Somalilandlaw.com hopes to contribute, as far as possible, to the advancement of the Somaliland legal system, and the entrenchment of democracy and rule of law in Somaliland. We will support, in particular, projects and initiatives aimed at improving Somaliland legislation, the legal system and legal education, and those which promote respect for the rule of law and the entrenchment of human rights.
Somalilandlaw.com is a not-for-profit, independent website. The texts and articles provided here can be used for information but should not be reproduced, without the express permission of the website owners. All right are reserved.
WHAT IS NEW?
[If you have visited the numerous pages of this website before, you may need to refresh your browser’s pages often to see new information/updates]
10 May 2013: Issue 4 (April 2013) Somaliland Official Gazette
02 May 2013: Somalilanders Speak - Lessons from the November 2012 Election - Report by Makokha J and Yusuf A (Safeworld April 2013)
25/04/2013: UPDATED PAGES:
Maritime Law - Somaliland and Somalia Maritime regime strategy
Piracy Law: Presidential Decree (2012) establishing the Somaliland Counter Piracy Co-ordination Office and overview of the work of the Office.
Fisheries Law - updates
20/04/2013: On 6 April 2013, the House of Elders extended the term of office of the House of Representatives for a further period of 2 years and 27 days and then extended their term for another 3 years.
06/04/2013: The Somaliland Traffic Law 2013 - Xeerka Wadda Marista Gadiidka (Xeer Lr. 56/2013) has been signed into Law, on 30 March 2013, by the President. It has been published in the Somaliland Official Gazette dated 6 April 2013. This much need law is now in force.
06/04/2013: House of Elders - Direct or Indirect Elections? See previous bills
Pages UPDATED in February/March 2013
February 2013 Issue - Somaliland Official Gazette
Airport Security Tariffs Law - Law No. 61/2013
Establishment of the Good Governance Commission Law -Law No. 58/2012
Somaliland National Water Law - Law No. 49/2011
Somaliland Civil Service (English & Somali) - Law No. 7/97
14 January 2013: New Laws signed by the President on 09 January 2013 -
The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Law: Law No. 59/2012
The Health Professionals Committee Law (as amended): Law No. 19/2001.
13 January 2013: Updated pages ... Electoral laws ... Political Parties ... New issues of the Official Gazette .. Immigration Law ...
03 December 2012: International Observers’ early statements on the Somaliland’s fifth set of elections since 2002.
25 November 2012: Articles on the Emergence of the Somaliland new political parties -
Part one: The Election and the RAC Determination
Part two: Election Over: The three parties and floor crossing
25 November 2012: 28 November Local Elections International Observers’ Press Release - “The 55-strong team has assembled in the capital city of Hargeisa, ready to deploy to all six Somaliland regions, where voters will turn out at more than 1,700 polling stations on November 28th. The mission follows previous observations of elections in Somaliland in 2002, 2005 and 2010 ...”
November 2012: Updated Pages - Somaliland political parties Laws; The Art.6 Code of Conduct..
10 November 2012: Issue 10 Somaliland Official Gazette.
12 October 2012: Doing Business in Hargeisa ... Coming soon New page “Business and the Law” gathering together in one page business laws currently scattered in various pages.
11 October 2012: Updated pages - new issues of the Somaliland Official Gazette.
11 October 2012: Islamic Banking Law (now in force) ... Comments on whether or not banking laws should also go to the HoElders.
19 September 2012: Somalilandlaw.com Unofficial Consolidation of the 2001 Election Law and its 5 Amendments now available in English and also here.
05 September 2012: Somalilandlaw.com Unofficial Consolidation of the 2001 Election Law and all its 5 Amendments is now available in Somali. A copy of the 2001 Law, as it was originally passed and copies of each schedule are available here.
26 August 2012: Somaliland Diaspora Groups issue a Press Release and an “August 2012 Statement” about Somaliland and Somalia’s new constitution and gov’t. The gist of the message is: “We are ..., yet again saddened by the fact that Somalians are still busy crafting constitutions and governments that claim to include Somaliland, when it is clear to everyone that since 1991, Somalilanders have not only established peace, but have adopted, a long time ago, their own Constitution and have their own democratically elected president and parliament. Whilst we hope that Somalians achieve the peace and stability that has evaded them so far, we urge them and the international community to accept and respect the irreversible decision of the Somaliland people to re-gain their sovereignty in May 1991. We state unequivocally once again, ‘We have our own constitution and elected representatives, good luck with yours’.”
The Press Release: [English] [Somali]
The August 2012 Statement: [English] [Somali]
18 August 2012: With both Houses of Parliament passing the 5th Amendments Schedule to the 2001 Election Law at extra-ordinary sittings on 7 and 11 August, the National Electoral Commission announced, on 12 August 2012, that the long delayed nation-wide elections shall be held on WEDNESDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2012. As set out in Article 8 of the 2001 Election Law, the NEC’s declaration of the polling date was published, on 16 August 2012, in a Presidential Decree (No. 082012). The 5th Amendments Schedule was signed by the President on 12 August 2012
08 August 2012: Issue 6 (07/0712) and Issue 7 (04/08/12) of the Somaliland Official Gazette. Also Special Issue 4: 2012 Budget Supplement
05 August 2012: Fourth Amendments Schedule to the 2001 Election Presidential Election Law Signed into Law by President on 25 July 2012, but the House (which is currently in recess) has been asked to re-convene for an extra-ordinary session on 7 August 2012 to reconsider the fourth schedule Amendments and specifically on the design of the ballot paper of the PR open list system.
- Copy of the 4th Amendments Schedule as signed by the President (in Somali)
- Somalilandlaw.com Consolidation of the 2001 Election Law and all it 4 Schedules of amendments up to July 2012 - Xeerkii & 4tiisii Lifaaq oo Isku Dhafan.
“In re-considering the 4th schedule amendments on 7 August 2012, Somalilandlaw.com urges the House to take this opportunity to add to the new Schedule 5 amendments the provisions relating to the reserved seats for women and excluded Groups which are included in our suggested draft schedule 5 amendments (see below).” - Editor (05/08/2012)
21 July 2012: House Committee Reserved Seats Bill proposes reserved seats at local councils and parliament for women and excluded communities. Somalilandlaw comments on the House Bill and a suggested Somalilandlaw.com draft Amendment Law amending the 2001 Election so as to prioritise, in the light of the fast approaching local elections, the reserved seats for local councils. The House is now in its Ramadan Recess until early September 2012.
6 July 2012: New report (Heritage Foundation: 18/05/2012) recommends to President Obama:
“Recognize Somaliland’s provisional independence. Somaliland is a model that proves democratic governance in Somalia is possible. Hargeisa’s connections to Mogadishu are limited to the extent that Somaliland’s government is forced to deal with the effects of the TFG’s failures. Somaliland is a willing partner in the fight against piracy and terrorism and can do more, but is prevented from doing so by the fact that it lacks state status and therefore cannot participate in international forums.”
15 June 2012: Issue 4 (April) Additional Supplement and Issue 5 (May) of the Somaliland Official Gazette are now available.
14 June 2012: CPJ Calls on Somaliland President to end press crackdown
9 May 2012: Issue 4 (April) of the Somaliland Official Gazette is now available.
27 April 2012: NEW... English language translation and extensive annotations of the Consolidated text of the Regulation of the Political Parties and Associations Law & Amendments 2011... Also an update of the Political Parties & Associations page - summary of the legal developments to date.
24 April 2012: The Somaliland Central Bank Law -Law No. 54/2012 has been signed by the President and came into force on 12 April 2012.
10 April 2012: The Maintenance of Public Order & Security Law Law No. 51/2012 is now in force as from 7 April 2012. The Law repeals the 1963 Public Order Law. Copy of the Law and other details... Handbook on this Law (to come)...
06 April 2012: New .. Some of the Bills at the HoR .. List of Post 1997 Laws (coming soon) ... New Website of the House of Representatives (RECOMMENDED see links on the right side of this page)
26 March 2012: New Somaliland Immigration & Refugee Law page .. Somaliland Immigration Law 1995 (full copy and English headings of the 47 articles)... Types of Somaliland visas.. Refugee Law 1984 as modified ... Somaliland Asylum/Refugee Determination Procedures...
25 March 2012: Somaliland Police Regulations 1995 (full copy) .. Updated page - Police Law
21 March 2012: [New PIRACY LAW PAGE]. Inadequacies of the Penal Code in tackling piracy.
Somaliland Piracy Law - Law No. 52/2012 (Somali text & English translation).
Somaliland Transfer of Prisoners Law - Law No. 53/2012 (Somali text & English translation). Both laws have now be signed by the President on 21 March 2012 and are now in force.
21 March 2012: Updated page: Somaliland Prisons Law... Copies of:
the 1996 Somaliland Prisons Law and the 1996 Structure of the Corrections Corps Law..... Transfer of Prisoners Law 2012
16 March 2012: Updated Pages: Somaliland Maritime Law .... Somaliland Territorial Sea and Contiguous & Exclusive Zones ... Somaliland Fishery Law 1995 (text in Somali & an English Translation) ...
16 March 2012: ASIL Article [Vol. 16, Issue 9, 15/03/2012] on the effects of the incompatibility of Somalia’s 1972 Territorial Sea Law with the Somalia’s accession to and ratification of the UNCLOS. (Despite lack of recognition, Somaliland’s position is different, specially in its enforcements in relation to fishing in its territorial waters and EEZ claims under its own municipal law).
23 February 2012: Former Somalia General & Prime Minister Mohamad Ali Samantar accepted liability before U.S. federal judge for torture, extrajudicial killing, war crimes and other human rights abuses committed against the civilian population of during the brutal Siad Barre regime - Centre for Justice & Accountability
21 February 2012: House of Representatives passes the Somaliland Piracy Law [Law No. 52/2012] and the Transfer of Prisoners Law [Law No. 53/2012] - copies of both laws shall be available shortly in a new webpage.
11 February 2012: First Issue (Year 1, Issue 1) of the Somaliland Republic Official Gazette published (Chief State Counsel’s Office).
7 February 2012: Xeerka Doorashooyinka & Golayaasha Deegaanka 2001 iyo Wax ka bedellediisii 2009, 2010 iyo 2011 oo dhan- Somalilandlaw.com Consolidated copy of the 2001 Election Law with all its amendments (in Somali).
7 January 2012: Somalilandlaw.com welcomes the promulgation by President of the Somaliland Republic Official Gazette Regulations 2012 on 4 January 2012.
22 December 2011: Consolidated text of the amended Regulation of the Political Parties and Associations Law 2011 FINAL (in Somali) .... Presidential Decree putting into force the amendments to the Law on 13 December 2011, and the amendments on their own.
22 December 2011: 2011 Amendments to the 2001 Election Law ....... 2011 Amendments to the 2007 Voter Registration Law. Both amendment laws came into force on 13 December 2011.
15 December 2011: Law Forbidding Participation in Somalian Meetings 2003 (as amended in 2012): Text, annotations and brief commentary. This Law was amended on 5 February 2012.
11 November 2011: Updates ... Military Law ... Intellectual Property Law ... Political Parties Law ...
24 October 2011: Regulation of Political Parties and Associations Law House of Representatives passed on 22 October 2011 amendments to Law No.14/2011. A Copy of the amendments on their own and a Somalilandlaw.com Office Consolidation of the the Law with its amendments in one text are now available .
24 October 2011: Minister of Justice calls for aid to implement fully the Somaliland Juvenile Justice Law
23 August 2011: President signs the new Law No. 14/2011 on political associations and parties which came into force on 20 August 2011.
31 July 2011: The House of Representatives passed today the new Regulation of Political Associations and Parties Law - Law No, 14/2011. Copy of the law and background information.
26 July 2011: Appointment of the new Chief Justice approved at a joint session of both Houses (details to follow) and other changes at the Supreme Court.
June 2011: African Game Changer? The Consequences of Somaliland’s International (non) Recognition, Brenhurst Foundation Paper 2011/05
18 MAY 2011: Somaliland marks the 20th anniversary of the reassertion of its sovereignty. Statement of the Somaliland Foreign Minister on 18 May 2011
In Memory: Brief Biography of Ahmed Jimalehby Gamal Gulaid, Attorney-at-law.
Somaliland Intellectual Property Law - review and recommendations
New 2011 Laws: Somaliland Telecommunications Law... Water Law ... NDC Law
Updated Pages: Somaliland Administrative Law... Somaliland Police Law... Criminal Procedure Code .... Traffic Code ... Public Finance laws... Somaliland boundaries... Prisons Regulations
Presidents signs the Somaliland National Human Rights Commission Law (SLNHRC)
28/12/2010 President returns the Law on the Settlement of Salaries and Emoluments of the President, Vice-President and the Members of the Two Houses (Law No. 46/2010) to the House of Representatives. UPDATE: The Law has since been signed by the President on 13 February 2011 - Copy of the final amended Law No. 46/2010.
Self-Determination and Conflict Resolution: From Kosovo to Sudan, Speech by Louise Arbour, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group to the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 22 September 2010: “In the case of Somaliland, insistence by the African Union on the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic, with Somalilanders governed again from Mogadishu, is both unrealistic and unsupported by more than twenty years of state practice. Any attempt to re-impose centralized control by Mogadishu would almost certainly open a new chapter in the Somali civil war.”
Electoral Laws updates May 2010 Second Amendments to the Presidential & Local Elections Law 2001 ... Somalilandlaw.com Text consolidation of the 2001 Election Law and all its amendments ...Codes of Conduct for the Political Parties ... Six point MOU ... First Supplement to the 2009 Electoral Laws Handbook (Supplement coming out soon) ..
- “Who do you Want to Dispense Justice - Committees or Courts of Law?”: Somalilandlaw.com Editorial 21 March 2010. (Information about the continuing extra- judicial activities of the Somaliland Security Committees is also available at this link).
- Hargeisa Law Faculty Legal Clinic Quarterly Report 2010: Mohammed M Jama, Director, Human Rights Unit, 20/03/2010
A note on Mohamed Barud’s “The Mourning Tree - An Autobiography and A Prison Memoir” published on 20 February 2010
International Crisis Group Briefings: December 2009: Somaliland a Way out of the Elect0ral Crisis
May 2006: Somaliland - Time for an African Leadership
- UDDA Press Release on the Somaliland Security Committees’ extra-judicial activities - 29/12/2009 (in Somali)
- RECOMMENDED: Somaliland Independent Scholars’ Group (ISG) topical papers on the Somaliland delayed presidential election- available at the website of the Somaliland Social Research & Development Institute (SORADI)
- UDDAA (and other Somaliland organisations, including somalilandlaw.com) issue a statement about the recent events relating to the long delayed 2009 Somaliland presidential election.
- Somaliland Presidential and Local Elections law (Amendment) Law 2009 (in Somali)
- Another unconstitutional term extension: Text (Somali) & explanatory note of the House of Elders’ Resolution on 13 March 2009 extending the presidential term of office.
- Updated Pages: Labour/Employment Law as amended ... Electoral Laws page ..... Mining Laws ...
- SOMALILAND ELECTORAL LAWS Handbook (264 pages) in English & Somali by Ibrahim Hashi Jama, available for free downloading from the Electoral Laws page.
- Updated Pages: Local Gov’t Law 2007.... Voter Registration Law & Amendments (Also now in English)..... Electoral Commission
- The Somaliland Juvenile Justice Law (Law No: 36/2007) has now come into force as from 21 April 2008: Somali text and an English language introduction.
- The Organisation of the Judiciary Law (Law no 24/03 & 06): This Bill was initially passed by the House of Representatives in 2003 and again in 2006 and was returned again by the President. The President’s amendments were finally passed by the House, on 16 March 2008, which could not muster the two thirds majority it required to push through the bill unscathed. The Bill is now in force.
- House of Elders Resolution on 10/04/2008 extending the Presidential term by one year.
- Somaliland Voter Registration Law (Law No: 37/2007): Somali text of the final law passed in July 2007 and, now, as updated in 2008.
- Jamhuuriya Interview with Somalilandlaw.com editor before the Guurti - Term extension decision - “Nabad xumid aan dalka ka jirini ma keeneyso Muddo kordhin distoori ah, laakin Muddo kordhin aan distoori aheyn ayaa nabad xumi dalka u keeneysa” -“Disorder that does not exist in the country will not bring about a constitutional term extension, but an unconstitutional term extension may lead to disorder”.
- Somaliland Local Government Re-organisation through Presidential Decrees in an Election Year - An article (large pdf file) : 06/04/2008
- Somaliland Cross-Party Parliamentary Group: Formation (November 2007), Press Releases and visit to UK (February 2008)
- New or Updated Pages: Electoral Commission .... Electoral Laws .... Environmental Laws ... Mining Laws
- Courts of Law re-established in Las Anod, the Sool regional centre 31/12/2007
- Somaliland National Human Rights Commission Bill submitted to the House by the Gov’t in November 2007: Text in Somali. ALSO: Jamhuuriya (Online) interview setting out Somalilandlaw.com editor’s comments on this Bill: 06/01/2007 (in Somali)
- The new Somaliland Press & Publications Bill 2007: Text & comments (Somaliland.com urges the Representatives to reject this Bill completely and recommends instead the adoption of eight steps to strengthen press independence) - Somalilandlaw.com Editorial on this Bill: 07/01/2008
- Protests about Somaliland Government’s “take-over” of the Somaliland Human Rights Network - SHURO-Net
- Notes of APD forum on the Somaliland Constitution: facilitated by Mr Michael Walls in August 2007
- The Delayed Release of the three QARAN Leaders: An article exploring Somaliland law relating to presidential powers of “pardon & amnesty” 23/09/2007 (Update: The politicians were released on 18/12/2007)
- Election Law Amendments 2007 Commentary Somalilandlaw.com Comments on the Somaliland Presidential & Local Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill 2007. (Update: This Bill was rejected by the House of Elders and has now lapsed).
- Politicians Arrested: The imprisonment of the three leaders of a new Somaliland political association, QARAN, on 28 July 2007 has led to wide spread condemnation - see for example the Press Releases from: SHURO-NET Somaliland Forum
- Somaliland Presidential & Local Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill 2007- Text in Somali .
- Somaliland Lawyers Association (SOLLA) Call for the abolition of the extra-judicial powers of the Somaliland Security Committees: Communique 07/06/2007
- Shuro-Net Statement on the legal challenge of the extra-judicial powers of the Security Committees (23/05/07)
- Somaliland Media Law: A Concept Paper by Associate Dean, Adam Haji Ali Ahmed, of HARGEISA UNIVERSITY LAW FACULTY.
- Launch of the Somaliland Freedom of Expression Fund (Art.32 Fund)
- Campaign to abolish the extra-judicial activities of Somaliland Security Committees
- The Sheikh Concordat – Settling Constitutional Disputes in the Somaliland Way?- Article by Ibrahim Hashi Jama written in December 2006 and published in the Somaliland Focus Bulletin (www.somalilandfocus.org.uk)
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