Managing and maximising time in constitution-making

Constitution making is a complex process, involving decisions on a wide range of political, legal and moral issues. It also raises a lot of practical issues, as the entities charged with drafting, debating and deciding on the constitutional text must manage their time and resources effectively to fulfil their responsibilities.

A new collaborative process between the Constitution Transformation Network and the Foro Constitucional at Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile explores the significance of time management in the process of constitution making and in settling a constitutional text. It also aims to understand how issues of time management have political consequences that can affect the acceptance of a draft constitution, by political elites as well as the general public, at the time of making a constitution and later as the constitution comes into effect.

Using the example of the constitution-making process in Chile in 2021, and its continuation in a new phase in 2023, the project seeks to draw out practical insights for the organisation and management of constitution-making processes across the world.

Read our Blogpost outlining the key features of the 2023 constitution-making process in.

This project follows a highly productive collaboration between the Constitution Transformation Network and the Foro Constitucional in 2021. The first project, ‘Managing Deadlines: Constitution Making in Chile 2021-22’ focussed on issues of time management to directly assist the 2021 Constitutional Convention of Chile. The written reports (in Spanish and English), recorded presentations and other media are available here.