South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution: the Making, Failure and Lessons

Abstract The period 2005 to 2011 has a special significance for the people of Sudan. It not only saw the emergence of South Sudan as an independent country, but it also marked the beginning of formal constitution-making in South Sudan’s tumultuous political history. Two important documents – the Interim Constitution 2005 and the Transitional Constitution 2011 – were enacted during this period. I discuss both documents in this paper. I find that the Transitional Constitution unnecessarily concentrates power in the president. I argue that in failing to constrain the president, the Transitional Constitution has failed the task of a modern constitution.