MONGOLIA

CONSTITUTION Mongolia, traditionally a nation of tribal nomads, is located between

China and Russia on the central Asian steppe. Early in Mongolia’s history,

different nomadic tribes dominated the steppe, leading ultimately to

Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire in the 13th century. The Mongol Empire

stretched across Asia to Eastern Europe and ruled until the Chinese

overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in 1306. After the decline of the Mongol

Empire, the region again was dominated by nomadic tribes, with no

centralized leadership. Mongolia was increasingly influenced by other

Asian cultures, including Tibetan Buddhism in the 16th and 17th centuries.

From the mid-17th century until 1911 when the Qing Dynasty collapsed,

Mongolia was part of China under the Qing Dynasty. Today, the Chinese

distinguish between Inner Mongolia (a semi-autonomous region in China)

and Outer Mongolia (the independent country of Mongolia).

Following Chinese rule, Mongolia declared independence in 1921.

Northeastern China, then known as Manchuria, wanted to incorporate

Mongolia, and thus Mongolia turned to the Soviet Union to support its

independence, rather than becoming part of Manchuria. The Soviets

heavily influenced Mongolia and the communist country was known as the

Mongolian People’s Republic from 1924 and 1992. The Soviets are

responsible for much of the infrastructure development in Mongolia, and

the capital city, Ulaan Baatar.

When the Soviet Union declined in the late 1980s, Mongolia

transitioned to a democratic system of government and enacted its own

constitution on January 13, 1992.

The Mongolian Constitution officially did away with the Mongolian

People’s Revolutionary Party monopoly on political power. The

Constitution legalized opposition parties and provided the transition from

communism to democracy. The Constitution established the executive,

unicameral legislative and judicial branches of the government.

Notably, the Constitution authorizes Mongolian citizens to privately

own land. However, the Constitution provides that the land which is not

privately owned, as well as the water, fauna, forests and mineral resources,

are all reserved for the state. The Mongolian constitution prohibits the

presence of foreign troops.

LEGISLATIVE BODY The State Great Khural is Mongolia’s single house of parliament. A

total of 76 members are elected to serve four year terms. Currently four

different political parties are represented in Mongolia’s parliament. The

most represented parties are the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party

and the Mongolian Democratic Party.

The State Great Khural appoints the nominees for president, enacts

and amends laws, and sets foreign policy, among other duties. The State

Great Kuhral also has the power to veto any order by the President with a

2/3 vote, and may also amend the constitution by a 3/4 vote.

All Mongolian law comes from the State Great Kuhral. Mongolia’s

legal system is statutorily based; and there is no system of precedents

based on common law. All previous decisions of the Mongolian courts are

therefore only advisory and do not bind courts in how they will rule in future

cases.

EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY Mongolian presidents are elected by popular vote for four year terms.

Candidates are nominated by the political parties represented in the State

Great Khural. The President is the chief of state, and Mongolia also elects

a Prime Minister as the head of government. Mongolia does not have a

Vice President. The Prime Minister, while nominated by the president, is

typically the leader of the majority party in the State Great Khural. The

prime minister in turn, appoints a cabinet who consult with the executive

branch and the State Great Khural.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

In Mongolia, there are two high courts. The Constitutional Court is

responsible for interpreting the Constitution, while the Supreme Court

serves as the appellate court.

The Constitutional Court is comprised of nine justices each elected

for six-year terms. The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court is limited to

Mongolia’s constitutional issues.

The judges of the Supreme Court are elected by the General Council

of Courts, who are confirmed by the State Great Khural and the President.

The Supreme Court is located in Ulaan Bataar. In additional to appeals,

the Supreme Court may address maters of first impression that are not

specifically in the jurisdiction of other courts.

Two tiers of local courts in each Mongolia’s 22 provinces have

jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters: 1) The Soum, Intersoum and

District Courts hear misdemeanors and less serious crimes. They also

hear civil cases where the amount disputed is less than 10 million tugrik.1

2) The Aimag Courts (“aimag” means province in Mongolian) are found in

each provincial capital city. These courts hear more serious criminal

matters and civil cases where the amount disputed is over 10 million tugrik.

Aigmag courts may hear appeals from the district courts.

IMPLEMENTATION OF UNITED NATIONS COUNTER-TERRORISM RESOLUTIONS

1 As of May 23, 2011, 10 million tugrik would equal approximately $8220.30

The Mongolia has ratified thirteen of the sixteen United Nations

international legal instruments against terrorism.

Ratified Yet to be Ratified

The Aircraft Convention: 1963 Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft Ratified: July 24, 1990

2005 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the Continental Shelf

The Unlawful Seizure Convention: 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft Ratified: October 8, 1971

2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

The Civil Aviation Convention: 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Ratified: September 14, 1972

2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation

The Diplomatic Agents Convention: 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons Ratified: August 8, 1974

Hostages Convention: 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages Ratified: June 6, 1992

Nuclear Materials Convention: 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material Ratified: May 28, 1986

Airport Protocol and Montreal Convention on Air Safety: 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports

Serving International Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Ratified: September 22, 1999

Maritime Convention: 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the 2005 Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation Ratified: November 22, 2005

Fixed Platform Protocol: 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf and the 2005 Protocol to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf Ratified: November 22, 2005

Plastic Explosives Convention: 1991 Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection Ratified: September 22, 1999

Terrorist Bombing Convention: 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings Ratified: September 7, 2000

Terrorist Financing Convention: 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Ratified: February 25, 2004

Nuclear Terrorism Convention: 2005

International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism Ratified March 31, 2010

In addition, Mongolia is working to implement UN Resolutions 1373

and has made three reports to the United Nations Counter Terrorism

Committee on the county’s progress. Most recently, in 2005, Mongolia

reported it had adopted legislation in 2004 year to provide the country with

a legal basis to combat terrorism. In addition, the government formed a

working group to redraft current legislation on money laundering and

financing of terrorism and bring that legislation into compliance with the

1999 convention for the suppression of financing terrorism, adopted by

Mongolia in 2003.

CORRUPTION AND GOVERNANCE

Seventy-three percent of Mongolians see the country as increasingly

corrupt over the last three years, with political parties and the Mongolian

parliament tied in public perception as the two most corrupt institutions.

Nearly half of Mongolians have paid a bribe in the last year. Mongolia’s

governance indicators have consistently worsened since 2003. While

Mongolia’s political stability indicator is its highest indicator, it has fallen

nearly 15 percentage points since 2003. Government effectiveness and

control of corruption recently dropped into the 10 to 15 percentile range,

declining in comparison to the world and previous years.