Researchers/practitioners/students are invited to contribute chapters to the edited volume “ The Gambia in Transition: Towards a New Constitutional Order “ that shed light on how we can design systems and craft a constitution that provide reasonable prospects for promoting constitutionalism, respect for the rule of law, good governance and democracy? What measures, mechanisms and institutions do we need to ensure that a constitution is effectively and fully implemented?

Background

The Gambia became sub-Saharan Africa's newest democracy following twenty-two years of authoritarian rule by former dictator Yahya Jammeh. This historic development presents a new blueprint for transition from an authoritarian regime to a one. To address the assaults on the constitutional, legal and institutional frameworks under the former regime, the current Gambian government enacted the Constitutional Review Commission Act in 2017 with the main aim of reviewing the 1997 Constitution towards the drafting of a new constitution. For this reason, discussions and debates on constitutionalism, consolidation of democracy and compliance with international human rights standards remain pertinent.

Gambian constitutional designers have not shown sufficient foresight and imagination in designing both the 1970 Constitution and the current 1997 Constitution of The Gambia. The critical issue then is this: how can we design systems that ensure democracy, good governance and the rule of law in The Gambia? In this regard, this edited volume seeks to audit the state of human rights standards, constitutional reform and democratic governance in The Gambia.

Contributions invited

We hereby invite all scholars and other persons interested in research in this area to submit abstracts on but not limited to the following themes:

· Constitution making in The Gambia

· The Gambia and its governance architecture

· Designing an electoral system that promotes inclusive and participatory democracy

· Enhancing the role of political parties in making democracy work

· The legal and political role of courts and the parliament

· Local governance systems

· Gender responsive constitutional design

· Promoting and protecting fundamental human rights and supremacy of the constitution

· Place of international law and foreign law

· The role of non-state actors

· Citizen participation in democratic strengthening

· Digital, media and technology as consensus-building devises

· Comparative perspectives on constitution making, governance and human rights

Contributions are particularly encouraged from the Alumni Network of the Centre for Human Rights LLM/MPhil (Human and Democratisation in Africa) Alumni from/in The Gambia.

Submission specifications

The editorial team will review abstracts that are in English, are 300 words in length, without footnotes or endnotes, and in MS Word format (not PDF). Abstracts must include in a single document: Title of abstract, author’s name, affiliation, qualifications and email address.

Important dates

Abstracts must be sent by email to satang.nabaneh@gmail.com by 28 February 2019. Authors wishing to discuss ideas before submitting an abstract can contact Satang Nabaneh at the same e-mail address.

Authors will be notified by 15 March 2019 whether their abstract have been accepted.

Authors of accepted abstracts are required to submit full chapters by 30 April 2018.

Upon double-blind review, the authors will receive comments, which they will be expected to incorporate and return the final chapter by 30 June 2019.

The accepted drafts will be submitted to the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), an open access publisher based at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Submission guidelines

The chapters must:

· Be original and not have already been published or submitted elsewhere. The chapters should be between 8 000 and 10 000 words (including footnotes) in length.

· Be critical and analytical. A purely descriptive and superficial approach will not be enough.

· Go beyond constitutional text and consider implementation issues.

· Use UK English .

· Please, adhere to the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) style guidelines, http://www.pulp.up.ac.za/images/files/publish_with_pulp/PULP_STYLE_GUIDELINES.pdf.

Remuneration

Contributions to the edited book are not remunerated. However, in recognition of your intellectual work and value, the authors of finally accepted chapters will be invited to participate in the first ever Gambian Constitutional Law Colloquium, an inter-disciplinary academic forum for presenting and critiquing papers which will be held in May 2019.

Project and Editorial Team

Satang Nabaneh, Founder/Editor, Law Hub Gambia

Dr. Adem Abebe, Associate Programme Officer, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Gaye Sowe, Executive Director, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa & Member, Constitutional Review Commission