A Case Study in Constitutional Engineering: How Sudan Navigated the Suspension and Repeal of Its Founding Charters

Dr Badria Suleiman Abbas
The modern state is regarded as an organised entity vested with authority. This necessarily means it must have a document that regulates those powers, their functions, and the relationships between them, along with the legal principles and rules governing the system of government, the form of the state, and citizens’ rights and freedoms. This document is the constitution.
The constitution is one of the highest sources of law in any state, because it reflects the political, cultural, economic and social realities of society. It establishes institutions and bodies, determines their powers and functions, and sets out the rules and nature of the political process. In other words, the constitution is the document that contains the fundamental legal rules that define and regulate authority and the foundations and nature of government institutions.
It determines the system of government and the form of the state: whether the state is unitary or federal; whether the system is republican or monarchical, parliamentary or presidential, or a hybrid arrangement. It also defines the powers and functions of the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Constitutional rules also determine individual rights, their scope, duties, and the obligations people must observe.
Sudan has experienced different systems of government since before and after independence. Numerous provisional, transitional and permanent constitutions have consequently been promulgated, but none endured for long. They ended with the collapse of governments following popular revolutions or military coups, agreements ending wars, or armed conflicts. As a result, the country has repeatedly passed through transitional periods governed by constitutional mechanisms and measures.
This experience began before Sudan attained independence. During the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, the 1899 Condominium Agreement between Britain and Egypt effectively served as the constitution. It concentrated authority in the hands of the Governor-General and was intended to consolidate colonial rule.
The Governor-General’s Council Ordinance was subsequently issued in 1910, establishing an advisory council to assist the Governor-General in performing his duties and functions. Advisory council legislation followed, including the Advisory Council for Northern Sudan Ordinance of 1943, and then the Executive Council and Legislative Assembly Ordinance of 1947, when the colonial authorities became increasingly aware of the Sudanese desire to attain full self-government.
The Self-Government Statute was then enacted in 1953. It regulated fundamental rights, defined the powers of the Governor-General and the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, and also organised other administrative bodies.
Following resolutions adopted by the Legislative Assembly on 6 November 1950 and 9 December 1950, the Governor-General ordered the establishment of a committee to draft a constitution for self-government. This process ultimately led to the 1956 constitutional arrangements.
Britain withdrew from governing Sudan, independence was proclaimed, and the Legislative Assembly, represented at the time by the House of Representatives and the Senate, adopted at a joint sitting the 1956 Interim Constitution of Sudan. In substance, it largely followed the 1953 Self-Government Statute, with only minor drafting amendments.
A national committee was then formed to prepare a permanent constitution, but its draft never came into force because of the military coup of 17 November 1958 led by General Ibrahim Abboud.
A number of constitutional orders were subsequently issued, the most significant of which was Constitutional Decree No. 1, which declared the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces the highest constitutional authority in Sudan and vested in it supreme legislative, executive, and judicial authority. Under Article 5 of that decree, the powers of the Council were entrusted to its Chairman.
Under Constitutional Order No. 3, the 1956 Constitution was suspended, Parliament was dissolved, all Sudanese political parties were dissolved, and forming any political party was prohibited.
The Central Council Act was then enacted in 1962, establishing a Central Council which, together with the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, constituted the supreme legislative authority. The Act regulated the Council’s membership, legislative procedures, financial matters and other issues.
On 21 October 1964, a popular revolution overthrew the military government. A document known as the 1964 National Charter was then adopted following a comprehensive agreement between representatives of the Armed Forces and representatives of what was then called the United National Front.
They agreed to establish a transitional government to govern under the provisions of the 1956 Interim Constitution. President Abboud would remain Head of State and exercise the powers that the Constitution had vested in the Sovereignty Council, in consultation with the Council of Ministers. He would also retain command of the Armed Forces. This temporary arrangement was to end with the adoption of a permanent constitution and the establishment of a government chosen by the people to exercise executive authority alongside the legislative function.
This arrangement, however, also proved short-lived. Under the agreement and the National Charter, military rule was dismantled, public freedoms were restored, the state of emergency was lifted, and political detainees and those convicted in political cases were released.
During the transitional period, the country was governed under what became known as the 1964 Amended Interim Constitution, which served as the basic constitutional and legal document for the transition. It provided for the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to draft a permanent constitution.
In 1968, the Constituent Assembly approved the formation of a 40-member committee drawn from among its own members. The committee produced a draft permanent constitution in 1968, but the proposal never came into force because of the political and security conditions prevailing in the country at the time.
In May 1969, the army seized power. On the same day, Republican Order No. 1 was issued, declaring Sudan to be a democratic republic in which sovereignty belonged to the people and was exercised, in matters of sovereignty, on their behalf by the Revolutionary Command Council.
The operation of the 1964 Amended Interim Constitution was suspended, and the Sovereignty Council, Council of Ministers, Constituent Assembly, Civil Service Commission and Elections Commission were dissolved. The Council of Ministers established under the order was to exercise both executive and legislative powers and remain accountable to the Revolutionary Command Council.
Political parties were dissolved, and the formation of any political grouping or organisation that might be used for political purposes was prohibited except by order and authorisation of the Council of Ministers.
Republican Order No. 2 prohibited hostile acts against the Revolution. A Council of Ministers for the Revolutionary Government was established, while Republican Orders Nos. 3 and 4 were intended to protect the Revolution. They also dealt with acts committed outside Sudan, providing that a person could be treated as a principal offender or accomplice where all or part of the relevant conduct would have constituted an offence had it been committed in Sudan.
One of the most important republican orders issued during that period was Republican Order No. 5. From its commencement on 28 January 1971, it became the basic constitutional and legal document governing Sudan.
Its provisions took precedence over any conflicting provision in earlier republican orders, while existing laws remained in force until amended. The Sudanese Socialist Union was recognised as the only political organisation permitted to operate in Sudan.
Chapter Two of the Order dealt with citizens’ fundamental rights. Chapters Three and Four regulated executive authority, while the judiciary was also organised, with separate treatment of civil courts and Sharia courts.
Chapter Five dealt with legislative authority, which was to be exercised by a parliament known as the People’s Assembly, acting together with the President of the Republic. The Order required that the composition of the People’s Assembly provide genuine representation for the different categories of the working people and for different geographical regions.
The Assembly was also entrusted with preparing a draft permanent constitution, which its members were to approve by a two-thirds majority within a period set by the President of the Republic.
Chapter Six set out procedures for enacting laws and legislation, while leaving certain matters to parliamentary standing orders. Chapter Seven dealt with financial matters, the budget, taxation and related issues.
The committee established to prepare the draft constitution completed its work with reference to the National Action Charter, issued at the beginning of January 1972, which outlined the political philosophy, policies, and governing approach of the time.
The Permanent Constitution of 1973 was consequently promulgated on 8 May 1973. It contained thirteen parts regulating sovereignty, the state, the fundamental components of Sudanese society, freedoms, rights and duties, and the supremacy of the rule of law.
It defined the President of the Republic as Head of State and specified his powers. It also regulated the legislative authority, its powers and functions, and the mechanisms through which oversight of executive bodies was to be exercised.
The 1973 Constitution also regulated decentralised government. It addressed the judiciary and its organisation, the Attorney-General, the Armed Forces, security forces, public-service institutions, the Auditor-General and his powers and functions, and electoral commissions.
The 1973 Constitution remained in force until a popular uprising in which the Armed Forces sided with the people ushered in a new phase of government in April 1985.
The 1985 Transitional Constitution was then adopted, regulating government, its institutions, bodies and powers, as well as citizens’ rights, freedoms and duties during a transitional period in which work was to proceed towards the adoption of a permanent constitution.
Political and party conflict continued, however, and a succession of coalition governments proved unable to endure. The Armed Forces intervened through a military coup on 30 June 1989 and seized power.
The government issued fourteen constitutional decrees before adopting the permanent Constitution of 1998.
The First Constitutional Decree suspended the 1985 Constitution, dissolved the Constituent Assembly, the Council of the Head of State and the Council of Ministers, and stipulated that the Revolutionary Command Council would issue and amend constitutional decrees and exercise authority over all military and security affairs. Its Chairman became Head of State, while a Council of Ministers held executive authority.
The Second Constitutional Decree dissolved political parties and prohibited their formation. It also dissolved the regional governments, at a time when Sudan had been organised into nine regions, dissolved trade unions, declared a state of emergency, and revoked the licences of all non-governmental press and media institutions and publications.
The Third Constitutional Decree regulated government organs and defined their functions.
The Fourth Constitutional Decree was the most important of these measures because it established decentralised federal government. It repealed the Southern Provinces Regional Government Act, the Regional Government Act of 1980 and the National Capital Act, and determined that Sudan would be administered on a federal basis.
Under Article 5, Sudan was divided into states. The Decree defined federal institutions, granted each state separate legal personality and an independent budget, and regulated the distribution of powers, functions and wealth between the centre and the states.
The Fifth Constitutional Decree, issued on 31 December 1991, established a transitional legislative council known as the Transitional National Assembly, which was to exercise legislative authority until elections were held for a newly elected National Assembly. The Decree defined the Assembly’s duties, functions, committees and procedures.
The Sixth Constitutional Decree introduced various amendments to earlier decrees.
The Seventh Constitutional Decree, issued on 16 October 1993, set out constitutional principles, systems and developments intended to guide state policy, as well as citizens’ rights and duties. It defined the offices of the President and Vice-President of the Republic, regulated specialised and sectoral conferences, and provided for elections and elected state councils.
The Ninth Constitutional Decree regulated the transfer and devolution of powers and the continuity of constitutional decrees.
The Tenth Constitutional Decree subsequently amended the Fourth Constitutional Decree, under which the states were reorganised and their number increased.
The Eleventh Constitutional Decree provided detailed regulation of federal institutions in the states and defined their functions and powers.
The Twelfth Constitutional Decree, issued in 1995, regulated federal relations and amended the system of state government. It repealed the Fourth and Tenth Constitutional Decrees and redefined the structures of government, the division of states, the distribution of powers and financial resources, and the organs of state government.
The Thirteenth Constitutional Decree defined the institutions of federal government, their powers, functions and jurisdictions, and also regulated federal and national systems, institutions and bodies.
The final measure was the Fourteenth Constitutional Decree, which concerned implementation of the 1997 Peace Agreement signed between political forces, southern popular constituencies and the federal government. It established the Southern States Co-ordination Council and defined its duties and functions within the decentralised federal system.
On 2 July 1997, a national committee was established to prepare a draft Constitution of Sudan, pursuant to Article 5(g) of the Tenth Constitutional Decree of 1995. A technical committee supported the drafting process.
The Transitional National Assembly approved the draft Constitution and submitted it to a popular referendum, where it received public endorsement. It consequently became the 1998 Constitution of Sudan.
The state and its institutions continued to operate under that Constitution. However, developments in the southern states and the continuing war there led the state authorities to enter into negotiations with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south in an effort to end the conflict.
The resulting Comprehensive Peace Agreement was translated into constitutional provisions agreed upon by political and social forces and approved by both the National Assembly and the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly. The 2005 Interim National Constitution was consequently adopted, incorporating all the agreed provisions of the peace agreement into carefully formulated constitutional text acceptable to the parties.
That Constitution remained in force until it was repealed pursuant to Article 2 of the 2019 Constitutional Document for the Transitional Period. Its preamble declared that it represented the outcome of consensus between the Transitional Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The Transitional Military Council adopted it under Constitutional Decree No. 38 of 2019 for application throughout the transitional period.
Under Article 3, the Constitutional Document became the country’s supreme law, and its provisions prevailed over all other laws.
It defined the nature of the state and sovereignty, affirmed that everyone was subject to the rule of law, determined the duration of the transitional period, and specified the duties of state institutions during that period.
It also defined the organs and levels of government, the institutions of transitional government, the functions of each body, and the membership requirements for the Sovereignty Council and the Council of Ministers.
The Document provided for the establishment of a Transitional Legislative Council and defined its membership requirements, functions, powers and term. It then addressed the national judiciary, the Constitutional Court, the Public Prosecution Service, the Auditor-General, and the uniformed services, including the Armed Forces, Police and General Intelligence Service.
It further detailed the independent commissions and the state of emergency, devoted Chapter Fourteen to the Bill of Rights and Freedoms, and Chapter Fifteen to issues of comprehensive peace.
Notably, this Document was drafted, issued, and adopted within a relatively short period, after being approved in August 2019.
Substantial amendments were subsequently made to it in 2020 and 2025. A review of the Document, together with developments on the ground — particularly after this accursed war, which has now lasted more than three years, amid political polarisation and security, environmental and social threats and their effects on social peace and economic and political stability — demonstrates the need for profound revisions and extensive constitutional surgery to address shortcomings, defects and the failure of the existing framework to keep pace with current realities.
This is what prompted the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to propose a comprehensive national dialogue involving all components of Sudanese society, to be held inside Sudan, to produce recommendations acceptable to all and capable of addressing many problems relating to the distribution of power and resources, the determination of levels of government, the desired form of the state, and the system of government most capable of advancing the country and repairing what the war has destroyed.
Such a process should contribute to reconstructing infrastructure and institutions, mobilise national energies to overcome the many obstacles confronting Sudan, and help build a strong, effective, and influential Sudan capable of serving its people and engaging constructively with neighbouring countries, the region, and the wider world.
All of this requires measures and reforms that may appear painful but are nevertheless necessary. They cannot be achieved without subjecting the Constitutional Document to a comprehensive review.
In undertaking such amendments, reference should be made to Sudan’s previous transitional, interim and permanent constitutions, as well as the constitutional measures adopted during transitional periods — particularly the 2005 Constitution, which enjoyed the agreement of many political, economic, social and cultural forces.
The useful and broadly accepted elements of those earlier experiences should be retained. Amendments should address the federal system of government, its levels and institutions, the powers of each level, and the mechanisms for co-ordination between them.
It is particularly important to affirm the separate legal personality of the states and explicitly recognise local government as a level of government directly concerned with delivering services to citizens.
A commission must also be responsible for allocating national resources among the levels of government. Each level of government should have its own revenue sources, while a state producing a national resource should receive a defined share of the proceeds from that resource.
Even before these reforms, and if the objective is to reduce expenditure on state institutions, consider the Sovereignty Council and its membership, the composition of the Council of Ministers, the anticipated Legislative Council, and corresponding institutions at state level.
Rationalising these structures could reduce government expenditure and redirect resources towards public services and social and economic development.
The anticipated dialogue may produce recommendations culminating in a National Charter, which could serve as a guiding framework for a committee or parliament expected to prepare and promulgate a permanent constitution for approval by an elected parliament, and possibly submission to a popular referendum.
The urgent constitutional arrangements required for Sudan in the immediate post-war period, however, undoubtedly include reconsidering the system of government, the form of the state, and the structure of its institutions.
This could lead to the creation of the office of a single President of the Republic, replacing a multi-member Sovereignty Council.
The question would then be how such an arrangement could be constitutionally structured so the office acquired legitimacy under the Constitutional Document after its amendment.
One possibility would be to submit the matter to a popular referendum following a recommendation jointly adopted by the Sovereignty Council and the Council of Ministers acting as the Transitional Legislative Council. Alternatively, a Transitional Legislative Council could first be constituted, after which it could submit the proposal for referendum.
This, however, would itself require prior amendment of the Constitutional Document and national consensus among the components of the Sudanese people, who have themselves participated with their lives, wealth, and property alongside the Armed Forces and supporting forces in the Battle of Dignity. They therefore have the right to see their aspirations reflected in a promising future for Sudan.
Returning to the preceding account of Sudan’s constitutional experiences and developments, particularly in circumstances in which constitutions were suspended or abrogated, it becomes clear that exceptional circumstances require exceptional transitional orders or decrees to regulate the interim period before the adoption of a constitution that ultimately becomes the supreme reference point.
It is both logical and to be expected that Sudan’s previous constitutions should play a major role as sources of guidance, with their useful elements being retained, their clear and widely accepted provisions incorporated, and matters not requiring definitive constitutional treatment left to legislation, provided that such legislation does not conflict with the Constitution.
And God is the ultimate guide to our purpose.

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