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OO RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #0361/01 0441305
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2809
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR SHIVERS 
CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICCENT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF
SUBJECT: 2007 LIST AND STATUS OF LEGISLATION CONSIDERED BY 
PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: KABUL 48 
 
¶1. (SBU) The second annual session of the Afghan Parliament 
(ended in December 2007) was politically contentious but 
nevertheless produced significant legislation.  The 
Parliament sent 14 bills to President Karzai for his 
signature.  Political strains between Parliament and the 
Palace were reflected in the fact that Karzai signed seven of 
the fifteen bills, vetoed five, and withheld action on two. 
Fifteen bills remain in the Upper House (Meshrano Jirga), and 
five remain in the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga).  One bill 
cleared both houses but was not transmitted to the Palace 
before Parliament adjourned.  The status of the legislation 
considered by the Parliament in 2007 is as follows. 
 
¶2. Legislation Considered by Afghan Parliament in 2007 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
(SBU) President Karzai signed the following seven bills. 
 
- Afghan Budget for 1386 (2007-8), which outlines the 1386 
budget.  (The fact that the budget was passed and signed on 
time in 2007 represented progress over 2006, when 
Palace-Parliament debate delayed it for several months.) 
- Provincial Councils Law, which creates the legal framework 
for provincial councils. 
- Environmental Law, which establishes environmental 
protections. 
- Prisons and Detention Centers Law, which establishes 
regulations to govern prisons. 
- Military Code Governing Officers, which regulates officers 
in the armed services. 
- Advocates Law bill, which establishes a framework for legal 
advocacy in Afghanistan. 
- UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which makes 
Afghanistan a party to UNCAC. 
 
(SBU) President Karzai vetoed the following four bills. 
 
- Independent Constitutional Commission bill, which would 
establish a commission for constitutional oversight as 
specified by article 157 of the constitution.  (Karzai 
considered that the commission would infringe on judicial 
prerogatives and opposed it to protect separation of powers. 
Parliamentary leaders, however, argue that Karzai's veto of 
this bill conflicts with Article 157 of the constitution, 
which calls for the establishment of an independent 
commission to supervise constitutional implementation.) 
- The Code of Justice for Crimes Committed Against Minors 
bill.  (Karzai vetoed this bill because he disagreed with 
Parliament's decision to define 19 as the age of majority; 
Karzai preferred 18.) 
- The State Owned Enterprises Law bill, which governs the 
operation and oversight of parastatals.  (Karzai vetoed this 
bill because of amendments suggested by Parliament, which 
would have unnecessarily curbed the authority of the 
Enterprise Evaluation Committee at the Ministry of Finance. 
The committee would have had to seek final approval from 
Parliament before implementing any parastatal liquidation 
plans.  He may also have used his veto due to his concerns 
about providing state jobs to Afghans and in order to protect 
the Afghan government airline, Ariana.) 
- Law of Land Ownership bill, which regulates land ownership 
and leasing. (Many Afghans remain wary of laws that ease 
market restrictions and provide means for tax collection. 
Karzai may have heeded advice from free-market opponents to 
veto the bill.) 
 
(SBU) President Karzai received but did not act on one bill 
and one resolution. (According to article 94 of the 
constitution, any bill held by the president for more than 15 
days becomes law.) 
 
- Amnesty Bill, which provides amnesty to combatants 
throughout the Soviet occupation, civil war, and Taliban rule 
of Afghanistan.  (According to Parliament's legal office, it 
 
KABUL 00000361  002 OF 003 
 
 
transmitted this bill to President Karzai.  The Palace would 
not confirm that it had received the bill for signature, and 
we find no record of the bill in the official gazette.) 
 
- Security Resolution, which outlines failings of the Afghan 
government to address security challenges and suggests a 
series of long and short-term solutions.  (The Lower House 
passed this resolution following hearings on executive branch 
performance dealing with terrorism and forwarded it to the 
Palace.  Karzai, in effect, ignored it, signaling his 
rejection of parliamentary involvement in the executive 
branch security decisions. 
 
(SBU) President Karzai sent the Media Law bill, which 
establishes protections and oversight for Afghan media and 
publications, back to the Lower House for further 
consideration (Ref), thereby avoiding either a veto or it 
becoming law without his signature.  (Parliament's legal 
office is treating Karzai's rejection of bill as a veto, 
which would require a two-thirds Lower House majority to 
override.  Speaker Qanooni highlights how difficult it will 
be to muster the two-thirds vote needed to override a veto in 
this case.  He has highlighted to the international community 
that he personally support media freedoms.) 
 
(SBU) The Lower House has not completed debate on the 
following four bills: 
 
- Transit Fee Law bill, which establishes tolls inter-city 
transit in Afghanistan.  (The Lower House debated all but one 
article of this bill pending an investigation into the 
permissibility of fines under Sharia law.) 
- Structure of Government Law bill, which defines the 
structure of the Afghan Government.  (The Lower House debated 
all but one article of this bill, reserving their prerogative 
to continue debate at a later date.) 
- Law governing Demonstrations and Protests bill, which 
defines police action towards demonstrators, and prohibits 
participation in protests by the armed forces of Afghanistan. 
(The Lower House approved all but one article of this bill, 
reserving the right to continue debate at a later date.) 
- Martyred and Disabled Law bill, which defines state aid to 
martyrs.  (The Lower House was unable to agree on a legal 
definition for "martyr," a term generally used to refer to 
victims of Soviet or Taliban actions.) 
 
(SBU) The following 15 bills remain in the Upper House. 
 
- Three separate agreements on Prisoner Extradition and 
Exchange with Tajikistan, Iran, and Russia. 
- Forensic Medicine Law bill is being reviewed by the Upper 
House's Health Committee prior to general debate. 
- The Political Parties Law bill, which establishes the 
legality of political parties, is being reviewed by the Upper 
House Women's Committee prior to general debate. 
- Court Documents Fee Law bill, which establishes the cost of 
obtaining legal documents in Afghan courts, is being reviewed 
by the Upper House Judiciary Committee. 
- Passport Law bill, which defines who has the right to 
obtain a passport, is being reviewed by the Upper House 
Interior Committee. 
- Military Penal Code bill, which establishes the military 
penal code, has not yet been assigned to an Upper House 
committee for review. 
- National Sciences Academy Law bill, which establishes a 
national academy to register and review Afghan publications, 
has not yet been assigned to an Upper House committee for 
review. 
- Non-commissioned Officers in Military School bill, which 
enables non-commissioned officers to attend military 
academies, has not yet been assigned to an Upper House 
committee for review. 
- Legislative Cooperation Agreement Between Afghanistan and 
Iran, which establishes a framework for legislative, economic 
and cultural cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran, has 
not yet been assigned to an Upper House committee for review. 
 
KABUL 00000361  003 OF 003 
 
 
- Quarantine Agreement with Iran, which establishes norms for 
transporting plants and animals across the Afghanistan-Iran 
border, has not yet been assigned to an Upper House Committee 
for review. 
- Mines Law bill, which creates a legal framework for the 
extraction of mineral resources, has not yet been assigned to 
an Upper House committee for review. 
- Labor Law bill, which regulates all labor in Afghanistan, 
has not yet been assigned to an Upper House committee for 
review. 
- Customs Law bill, which establishes customs fees and the 
penalties for smugglers.  (The Lower House approved this 
bill, but some religiously-minded members voiced concerns 
that levying fines to enforce a law is against Sharia law. 
The Lower House sent the law to the Supreme Court, which 
replied that the bill does not conflict with Sharia law.  The 
Lower House passed the bill to the Upper House, which has not 
yet assigned it to a committee for review.) 
 
(SBU) The Upper House amended the bill to create a police 
reform commission and returned it to the Lower House for 
further review.  The Lower House Interior Committee is 
currently considering Upper House changes to the bill.  (The 
two Houses will form a joint commission to negotiate a final 
version of the bill before transmitting it to President 
Karzai.) 
 
(SBU) Parliament's legal office has finished the final 
version of a bill regarding the sale of Afghan land to 
diplomatic missions.  Legal office head Enaytullah Alamyar 
had told us he intended to transmit the bill to President 
Karzai after the start of the 2008 legislative session, which 
began on January 21, but he has not yet transmitted the bill. 
WOOD