Case Study of the UN Intervention in the Political-Legal Structure of the East Timor

Carina Barbosa Gouvêa () and Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco ()
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Carina Barbosa Gouvêa: Federal University of Pernambuco
Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco: State University of Rio de Janeiro

Chapter Chapter 7 in UN Interventions and Democratization, 2023, pp 161-186 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The final chapter presents a case study in the legal political intervention of East Timor. This country had the direct support of the UN for the development of the adopted constitution model, which can be considered as a paradigmatic case since this intervention lasted at least 12 years and was consummated in the pre-constituent, constituent, and post-constituent phases. This investigation enabled to explore the possible patterns of constitutional resistance and the legitimacy of its constitution. After the Timorese independence, the UN supported the state—through UNMISET, UNOTIL, and UNMIT—for at least 10 years, having recognized the instability and institutional fragility and the incapacity of the state to promote its development, besides other difficulties mentioned before. An "effective post-conflict democracy" is built on a dual basis: a set of structures and procedures to manage the issues that divide society, as well as a set of fundamental relationships between the groups involved. There was an over-reliance of Timorese governance institutions on the knowledge of international experts, and this could compromise the development of local capacities—the recommendation was to look primarily at participatory governance mechanisms. The Timorese people were not allowed to choose the form, basis, timing, and character of their constitutional process and the content of their constitution. This imposition generates its illegitimacy. However, the constitution can gain legitimacy through its process of social constructing meanings and identities, since its ability to express itself does not necessarily end in its adoption process. It is the permanent process of contestation that allows the constitutional living to develop. Amidst the restoration of democracy, it was possible to glimpse some approximate contours with the category of transformation constitutionalism, including the logic of progressive development. Democratic constitutionalism puts the question of the original legitimacy of the text in second place, admitting that this same sign of empowerment of the Charter comes about through practice.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-32715-5_7

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