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CHURCH'S SOCIAL TEACHING AND CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

Should we favour a Constituent Assembly to prepare the new Constitution for Zambia, or should we leave it to the Parliament?  Which approach would better guarantee a Constitution that will “stand the test of time”?

These are questions that all Zambians are asking these days.  There is strong disagreement between the leaders of the churches and civil society groups and the President and Ruling Party, MMD.  Unless this disagreement is settled very soon, we may have very serious constitutional problems in the future.

I believe that the Church’s social teaching (CST) can help guide us at this point about making the right decision for the constitutional review.  Listen to the words of the November 2003 Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Zambia, entitled, Let My People Go.

…the formation of a Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) is only the first step in the process.  Thereafter, the initial report from the CRC should be made available to all stakeholders in the country for comment.  We equally recommend that the final report from the CRC be submitted to a popularly constituted and representative body, also known as the Constituent Assembly, for purpose of further debate and adoption only.  The adopted draft constitution is then taken, if necessary, to a referendum and thereafter taken to Parliament to be enacted into law.

Purposes for a Constitution

Why do the Bishops say that the Constituent Assembly is a better method for getting Zambia a new Constitution?  First of all, because of what a Constitution is.  It is not simply another law; it is the fundamental law of the land.  There are three major purposes for a constitution and these should be kept in mind when the mode of adoption is being considered.

First, the Constitution expresses the self-determination of the citizens.  It rests in the political theory of democracy that places authority in the hands of the people.  Hence the Constitution of Zambia makes an explicit commitment of the people.  That is why the Preamble of the current Constitution begins with the hallowed phrase, “We, the People of Zambia.”  A constitution is definitely not a “party document”!

Second, the Constitution embodies the civil spirit of the moment.   It is more than merely a legal document or a set of technical arrangements.  It is an incarnation of the spirit, the hopes, the aspirations, the expectations and desires of the people.  The highest values of the citizens are made explicit in the document, especially in the Bill of Rights.  There the people say what they believe in, in order to enjoy the privileges and exercise the duties necessary to sustain community.

Third, the Constitution establishes the legal framework of democracy.  If we are to have “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” then the democratic values must be clearly expressed in the various institutions of governance.  For a “rule of laws, not of humans,” we need a document of clarity and simplicity that everyone can understand and agree with.  That means that adoption of the Constitution must be according to a process of real ownership by all the citizens, without people feeling that it is only the current government leaders who have the final say.

The Value of Democracy

To appreciate more deeply why the Catholic Bishops in Zambia favour a Constituent Assembly, it is important to note what CST says about democracy.  A strong and clear statement came in Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical letter, One Hundred Years:

The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it encourages the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility both of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.  Thus the Church cannot encourage the formation of narrow ruling groups which usurp the power of the State for individual interests or for ideological ends.

Here in Zambia today, we want to preserve a democratic system that brings us peace and political stability.  Among the points urged by the Catholic Bishops of Zambia in their recent Pastoral Letter were issues such as inclusion of economic and social rights in the Constitution, reform of the electoral process to assure free and fair elections, limiting the powers of the President in order to bring more balance in the separation of powers, removal of the “Christian Nation” clause.

For issues like those mentioned by the Bishops to be debated and resolved impartially and intelligently, there is need for a Constituent Assembly.  Only then can we have a “people-driven” Constitution.

Yes, a Constituent Assembly will require changing some legislation by Parliament, some extra funding and real commitment by the people of Zambia.  But if democracy is to flourish in the future, this is the step to be taken.

[Peter Henriot, S.J., is Director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological reflection.  For further discussion of this and other CST topics]