Practical Federalism in Iraq

Seminar on Practical Federalism in Iraq
Venice, 18-26 July, 2006
 
Monastery of San Niccolo
Venice-Lido
 
Draft Program
 
Day 0: Monday, 17 July
Welcome dinner at the Monastery 20:30 - 21:00
Welcome remarks by the organizers Mr Bakhtiar Amin, AIJ, Prof. Horst Fischer, EIUC President and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, No Peace Without Justice
 
 
Day 1: Tuesday, 18 July
 
Morning session  9:30 - 13:30
Federalism, devolution and region building
Introduction to general principles of federalism, devolution and region building. A comparative approach will exemplify different experiences for a highly negotiable and problem-solving oriented constitutional engineering of national togetherness and will contribute to explore the widest spectrum of applied federal, devolved and regional solutions to practical and policy issues to be addressed and solved. Examples of how distribution of power and responsibilities negotiated within a constitutional framework can be modified over time to address new needs and circumstances.
Focus on the trend of devolution and regionalism in non-federal state where countries with a strong centralised history move towards decentralisation and a distribution of power. 
 
Afternoon session           15:30 - 19:30
Distribution of powers, competences and responsibilities
Identification of the themes of the seminar to show how distribution of competences on each can be negotiated, adjusted and attributed independently while remaining correlated within a common constitutional framework. Key constitutional areas with exclusive/concurrent powers and areas with unclear allocation. Themes already identified include: 1. fiscal arrangements and public spending; 2. management and sharing of natural resources; 3. justice system, criminal law, liberties; 4. representation; 5. language, education, culture, religion.
Participatory debate and discussion on how these might be applicable in Iraq. 
 
Dinner at Hotel Mabapa
Day 2: Wednesday, 19 July
 
Morning session  9:30 - 13:30
Guest Speaker: Marco Pannnella, Member of European Parliament
 
Fiscal arrangements and public spending (Taxation and Treasury)
Who raises revenue for whom: distribution of fiscal and revenue-raising powers between federal and sub-federal entities. Exclusive and concurrent competences between the federal, regional and local authorities. How should the responsibilities for raising revenues be divided between Federal Government, regional Governments and Governorates. Examples of combinations of local and central revenue raising with local and central spending authority (incl. examples of division between services rendered by the central government and local unit), leading to: Who spends whose money, for what, on whose authority: distribution of spending power (treasury) between federal and sub-federal entities. Exclusive and concurrent competences between the federal, regional and local authorities. How should the responsibilities for providing public services be divided between federal governments and regional governments and governorates. What factors to consider and experiences in other constitutional arrangements. How to deal with the fiscal imbalances between federal, regional and local government. Correlation between fiscal federalism solutions and other components of the system. 
 
Lunch at the Hotel Mabapa
 
Free afternoon or Optional guided tour of Venice, evening dinner and concert. Participants wishing to attend are kindly asked to meet in the lobby of the Villa Mabapa Hotel at 15:00
 
Day 3: Thursday, 20 July
Morning session  9:30 - 13:30
Management and sharing of water, oil, gas and other natural resources
Who owns and who manages what, and on whose behalf: examples of a variety of solutions on the sharing of natural wealth. Exclusive and concurrent competences between the federal, regional and local authorities. Correlation of the management of natural resources (water, oil, gas, etc), the respect of freedom of movements for goods and services and the other components of the system. 
 
Lunch at the Monastery
 
Afternoon session           15:30 - 19:30
Participatory debate on previous topics, with a view to the administrative, institutional and legal instruments for their implementation, extracting possible combinations of practical solutions that might serve best the current and future situation in Iraq.
Dinner at Hotel Mabapa


Day 4: Friday, 21 July
 
Morning session  9:30 - 13:30
Justice System, Criminal Law, Liberties
Who protects whose rights: individual rights and freedoms and their protection and coexistence and interaction of local and/or federal judicial systems. The appeals processes and the various stages of judicial proceedings. Examples of procedures for protection, recourse and compliance from devolved, federal and international justice systems. Which cases are dealt with by which bodies: exclusive and concurrent competence of federal, regional and local judicial bodies, their sovereign independence, mandate, composition and relation to each other. Correlation of the judicial process with other components of the constitutional system.
 
 
Afternoon session           15:30 - 19:30
Justice System, Criminal Law, Liberties
Participatory debate on applicability Iraq.
 
Dinner at the Hotel Mabapa
 
 
 
Day 5: Saturday, 22 July
 
Morning session 10:00 - 12:30
Official Welcome by Italian Authorities
Remarks by the Central, Regional, Provincial and City Government (Mr Intini, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr Vecchiato, Assessore, representing the Region of Veneto; Mrs Zanutel, Assessore, representing the Province of Venice; Massimo Cacciari, Mayor of Venice, the organisers (Bakhtiar Amin and NPWJ), other senior Iraqi participants
 
Afternoon Free,
or
Optional guided tour of the islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello;
Lunch in Burano;
Afternoon drink in Torcello;
Dinner in Villa Mabapa.
 
Participants wishing to attend are kindly asked to meet at the front of the Monastero San Nicolo’ at 12:45.
 
 


Day 6: Sunday, 23 July
 
Morning Session 9:30 - 13:30
Representation
Who represents whom where (and for what). Examples of electoral and representative systems on different levels: federal, entity, sub-entity, local. Exclusive and concurrent competences between federal, regional and local elected bodies. Local representation at Regional and Federal level; Regional representation at Local and Federal level; Federal representation at Local and Regional Level. Analysis of options for Senates or Second Chambers representing regions or local entities. Correlation between the different levels of elected bodies and other components of the system.
 
Lunch at the Monastery
 
Afternoon session           15:30-19:30
Who represents whom where (and for what)
Participatory debate on applicability Iraq
 
Dinner at Hotel Mabapa
 
 
Day 7: Monday, 24 July 2006
 
Morning session  9:30 - 13:30
Language, Education, Culture, Religion
Examples of the range of federal possibilities on linguistic and educational, cultural and religious matters. Exclusive and concurrent competences between the federal, regional and local authorities. Correlation between pluralist solutions and other components of the system.
Participatory debate on how these might be applicable in Iraq.
 
Lunch at the Monastery
 
Afternoon session           15:30 - 19:30
Conditions for successful federalism and national unity in Iraq
Analysis of issues explored in each of the sessions, extracting possible combinations of practical solutions that might serve best the current and future situation in Iraq.
 
Dinner at Hotel Mabapa
 
 


Day 8: Tuesday, 25 July
 
Morning Session 9:30 - 13:30
Drawing from the debates of each session, Rapporteurs Teams present their reports, including any dissenting report: general discussion on any solutions applicable to Iraq for an effective constitutional framework and the legal and institutional instruments for its implementation: (1) the constitutional review process and implementation; (2) development of key constitutional mandates on region and entity formation and representation at all levels; (3) cooperation between local and regional governments; and (4) other necessary legislative and institutional developments.
 
Afternoon session           15:30 - 19:30
Summary of discussions and debates; Recommendations
Specific and general recommendations. Recommendations addressed to the Iraqi Parliament and recommendations addressed to the international community. Recommendations can be at a minimum on methodology of consultation (including follow-up in Iraq); at a maximum they can already propose possible solutions on some aspects that have been discussed.
 
Farewell dinner on the Lido
 
 
 
Day 9: Wednesday, 26 July
Departure of participants