A constitution for Iraq.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Constitutions are always born on wobbly legs; the framers of the U.S. Constitution harbored doubts that it would last long. Similar doubts greeted Monday's signing of a new interim constitution in Iraq by members of the Iraqi Governing Council. But the fact that the fractious council has agreed upon a new charter is a hopeful sign by any standard.

The very act of asserting the Iraqi people's right to the type of government promised by the constitution sets a new benchmark for public expectations. The Kurdish people, for instance, have for the first time in Iraqi history seen their language proclaimed to be on an equal legal footing as Arabic. As Iraq moves toward self-government later this year and a final constitution by December 2005, the Kurds may gain confidence in having a secure status within the larger Iraqi state. Iraq's stability will depend on a lessening of separatist pressures, and the new constitution may help bring that about.

Article 4 of the new charter directly addresses the problems of national unity and separatism: "The system of government in Iraq shall be republican, federal, democratic and pluralistic. ... The federal system shall be based on geographic and historical realities, and not upon origin, ethnicity, nationality, or confession." Since the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Iraq has been a disparate collection of peoples held together by force. The new constitution aspires to make them into a nation.

The constitution guarantees a long list of rights: Freedom of expression, assembly, movement and travel. The right to form labor unions and political parties, and to go on strike or attend demonstrations. Freedom of thought, conscience and religious belief and practice. The right to security, privacy, education, health care and social security. The right to vote in free and competitive elections. The right to fair, speedy and open trials.

The danger is that cynicism will grow if civil liberties are unprotected. Many of the rights in the new constitution also were guaranteed by a constitution promulgated by the Iraqi monarchy in 1925, and similar rights are promised by meaningless constitutions in some of the Mideast's most repressive dictatorships. A constitution without a government that is bound by it is worthless. Yet a constitution must articulate basic rights - indeed, articulating them is the first step toward making them a part of civic life.

Thirteen of the 25 members of the Iraqi Governing Council are Shiite Muslims, and 12 of them indicated an intention to rewrite portions of the new constitution before the United States transfers sovereignty to the council on June 30. The Shiites' objections, however, seem technical in nature, and might be addressed when a final constitution is drafted.

Agreement seems to have been reached on more fundamental points. For instance, the constitution declares Islam to be "a source" of Iraqi law, not "the source" or even "a primary source." Equal rights for women are strongly guaranteed; indeed, the constitution takes the unusual step of addressing the use of gender in the Arabic language by specifying that the masculine form of words is meant to include both men and women.

Constitutions are never written in times of calm - they arise from a violent break with the past. And good constitutions aren't written by governments - rather, good governments emerge from constitutions. A single document will not bring peace, stability and the rule of law to Iraq. But now the foundation is there to be built upon.