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Constitution of Afghanistan, Afghanistan

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Latest Version in WIPO Lex
Year of Version 2004 Dates Adopted: January 4, 2004 Type of Text Constitution/Basic Law Subject Matter Other Notes The current Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was adopted by the delegates of a constituent assembly (Loya Jirga) representing the Afghan people, held between December 13, 2003 and January 4, 2004. It was formally ratified by the Afghan President on January 26, 2004.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a presidential system where the Executive branch of government is composed of a popularly elected President and two Vice Presidents. The President appoints the ministers, the attorney general and the justices of the Supreme Court.
The legislative authority in Afghanistan is a bicameral National Assembly with a House of People (Wolesi Jirga) and a House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). Its duties are enumerated under Article 90 of the Constitution.

The judicial power in Afghanistan is composed of the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and Primary Courts. Cases are resolved in courts taking into consideration the quality and nature of the case in two stages, primary and appeal. The Supreme Court deals with the referred cases of Courts of Appeal only in terms of accurate application of law (to see if any provision of law is breached or accurately applied), unless it has been authorized by law to resolve a case taking into consideration the quality and nature of the case.

The legislative process in Afghanistan involves that any law has to be approved by both Houses of the National Assembly before it is endorsed by the President. Laws can be proposed by either the National Assembly or the members of the Government.

The Constitution of Afghanistan contains provisions concerning intellectual property rights at Article 47. Article 40 recognizes the right to private property.

The English version of the Constitution of Afghanistan is reproduced from the website of the Supreme Court, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (© http://supremecourt.gov.af/en/page/626).

Available Texts Main text(s) Main text(s) English Constitution of Afghanistan PDF HTML
Legislation Relates to (2 text(s)) Relates to (2 text(s))
Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of Courts (AF026)
Law on Mass Media (AF009)

WIPO Lex No. AF004