Transitional Federal

Charter of the
Somali Republic

The Transitional Federal Charter of the

Somali Republic (TFC) was the principle
organizing document of Somalia. Written
and approved in February 2004, it
represented one of the Transitional
Federal Institutions (TFIs). The other TFIs
included the Transitional Federal
Parliament (TFP), which was the
legislative branch, and the Transitional
Federal Government (TFG), the TFI's
executive wing.

The TFC was distinct from the national

constitution, which was distinguished as
a separate document (Chapter 4, Article
11, Section 3(a)).

On 1 August 2012, an 825-member

national constituent assembly approved
a new provisional constitution by a
landslide of 96% for the Federal Republic
of Somalia.[1]

Chapter 1
The Charter's first Chapter establishes
the Transitional Federal Government as
the sovereign government of Somalia
(Article 1), and gives the government
supremacy of law over the nation (Article
3).

It defines Somalia in Article 3 as having

the following borders:

(a) North; Gulf of Aden.

(b) North West; Djibouti.

(c) West; Ethiopia.
(d) South south-west; Kenya.

(e) East; Indian Ocean.

Article 4 also stipulates that all disputes
regarding inconsistencies between
national laws and the Charter should be
brought before the Supreme Court for
adjudication.[2]

Chapter 2
Declares Mogadishu as the capital,
and grants Parliament rights to pass
laws over its governance (Article 5).
Defines the flag and emblem of
Somalia (Article 6), which serve, along
with the National Anthem and the
Public Seal, as national symbols
(Article 9).
 Defines Somali and Arabic as the
official national languages, and English
and Italian as secondary languages
(Article 7).
Defines Islam as the national religion
and sharia as the basis of national
legislation (Article 8).

Chapter 3
This chapter grants citizenship to all
persons who were citizens of the Somali
Republic at the time the Charter came
into effect, and extends citizenship to all
those who were born in the Somali
Republic, or whose father is a citizen of
the Somali Republic, so long as that did
not conflict with other citizenships
(Article 10).

Chapter 4
This Chapter defines the government as
a federation and describes the nature of
the federal government. It defines the
scope and structure of the republic as a
hierarchy (Article 11):

Transitional Federal Government at the

national level
State Governments where "two or
more regions federate, based on their
free will."
Regional Administrations
 District administrations

For example, Puntland would qualify as a

State Government, if it choose to remain
so organized within this structure.

It also calls for a national census to be

conducted and a new Constitution to be
drafted by a Federal Constitution
Commission, and for the Constitution to
be approved by a national referendum. It
also defines a Ministry of Federal and
Constitutional Affairs to implement such
affairs.

Auxiliary organs are also called out:

auditor general, attorney general,
accountant general, and Governor of
Central Bank (Article 12).

Chapter 5
This Chapter deals with a number of
personal civil rights:

Human Rights & Dignity (Article 14)

Equality of the Citizens Before the Law
(Article 15)
Right to Life, Personal Liberty and
Security (Article 16)
Rights Relating to Legal Proceedings
(Article 17)
Labour (Article 18)
 Right to Assemble and Freedom to
Strike (Article 19)
Freedom of Information and Media
(Article 20)
Right to Establish Political Parties
(Article 21)
Right to Establish Social Organizations
(Article 22)
Political Asylum (Article 23)
Education (Article 24)
Protection of Family (Article 25)
Social Welfare (Article 26)
Economy (Article 27)

Chapter 6–10
The next several Chapters define the
branches of government:

Chapter 6: Transitional Federal

Parliament
Chapter 7: President
Chapter 8: Executive Branch &
Ministers
Chapter 9: Judiciary
Chapter 10: Security and Defense
Forces

Chapters 11–14
These sections cover policies regarding
administration of the country as a whole.
 Chapter 11: This chapter delineates
policies for Somalia's land, natural
resources, and environment.
Chapter 12: Independent commissions
and administrative committees
Chapter 13: International and bilateral
relations

Chapter 15–16
These sections invest Parliament with
the power to amend the Charter, state
that anything not covered by the Charter
is to be governed by the 1960 Somalia
Constitution, and defines other factors of
the transitional period.

Schedules
 Schedule I - Powers of the Transitional
Federal Government
Schedule II - Powers of the State
Governments
Schedule III - The reports of the five
Reconciliation Committees of the
Somali National Reconciliation
Conference in Kenya 2002-2003.
Schedule IV - List of the delegates,
political leaders and political groups.

References
1. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2
012/08/201281101033529886.html
2. The Transitional Federal Charter of the
Somali Republic
External links
The Transitional Federal Charter of the
Somali Republic

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