Rights
A provisional constitution from 2012, amended in 2024, alongside Somaliland's separate order
The Provisional Constitution of 2012 established a federal republic; the first four chapters were amended in 2024. Federal member state relations remain contested, and Somaliland has operated its own constitutional order since 1991.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal in form. The Constitutional Court provided for in the 2012 text has not been established; Somaliland administers its own courts.
Governing law
- Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia 2012chapters amended 2024
- Constitution of Somaliland 2001 — separate, unrecognised order
- Puntland and other federal member state constitutions
In practice
Somalia's constitutional position cannot be stated as a single system. The 2012 Provisional Constitution created a federal republic with a bicameral parliament and provided for a Constitutional Court that has never been constituted, so constitutional disputes are resolved politically. The March 2024 amendments to the first four chapters changed the electoral model toward direct universal suffrage and altered the executive structure, and they were contested by Puntland, which announced it would not recognise them pending a national agreement. The allocation of powers and revenue between the federal government and member states is genuinely unsettled rather than merely disputed at the margins. Separately, Somaliland declared independence in 1991, adopted its own constitution by referendum in 2001, and runs its own courts, elections and legal system; it is not internationally recognised, but describing Somali law without noting this would be inaccurate.