Arbeidstittel for Tadjdinis avhandling er "Constitutional de-secularization in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq - and the impact on selected rights".
Kommentator er Henrik Palmer Olsen fra iCourts, et dansk senter for fremragende forskning ved Københavns Universitet.
Midtveisevalueringen ledes av professor Cecilia Bailliet, nestleder ved Institutt for offentlig rett .
Om prosjektet
In what ways are individual rights in a legal system normatively affected when the foundational legal document - the constitution - shifts from being a more or less secular constitution to becoming one that establishes religion as a criterion for legislation? This question is the primary research question for the thesis. The expansion of this constitutional phenomenon in the last years gives reason to critically assess its legal consequences. The question is part of a larger debate on the place of religion in the constitutional design and the issue of whether constitutional secularity is a prerequisite in order to ensure that rights can be more equally and fully enjoyed.
The contribution of this study to that debate is of a concrete type. Instead of asking how the constitutional incorporation of religion can ensure rights it asks whether it has done so in the actual case of three countries - Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq - that have experienced both a (semi)secular constitution and a constitution where religion is one of the major elements. The study applies two angles: a legal historical angle which assesses the current constitutions in light of each country’s constitutional memory, and a lex lata angle where the main bulk of the thesis is found.
While one can apply different lenses to a rights analysis, this study looks at the rights situation through the lenses of constitutional de-secularization. This methodological choice aims to enhance the linkage between rights, constitutions and religion. The study is limited to four rights: the right to life limited by the death penalty, the right to political participation, freedom of expression and assembly, and freedom of religion.