Provisions on community rights revised
A PROVISION in the charter draft has been revised to |require that the state hold public hearings of stakeholders before implementing any projects that affect the environment, people’s health and quality of life, Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) spo
Article 54 has also been rewritten to add that the people and communities have the right to receive information and reasons from state agencies before any project is started.
The provision, however, does not require that opinions on |environmental matters be sought from educational institutions and independent agencies.
Article 43 was also revised to give communities the right to co-establish welfare systems of communities with local administrative organisations or the state. They also have the right to file suits against state agencies and local administrative organisations.
‘Public right to information’
A new provision – Article 43/1 – was added to the draft. It deals with the public’s right to access official information other than classified and national security information.
Article 41 empowers people to file complaints of malfeasance and dereliction of duty against state agencies and state employees.
The people and communities also have the right to offer suggestions to state agencies to implement projects useful to the public or stop any projects that damage their livelihood and their way of life.
The provision also stipulates that concerned people have the right to file complaints against state agencies but not lawsuits against the state over state |policies.
The move to review these provisions came after the charter draft’s chapter on human rights was criticised as inferior to |provisions in the 1997 and 2007 charters.
