The Need for a New Constitution

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, restructuring became a historical necessity of Mongolian society. The main external cause of this historical demand was the deep crisis of socialism and its subsequent collapse.

In the wave of reforms, the socialist system and its mainstay were economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and once its pillars collapsed, it was no longer possible to move forward on the path of socialism.

As for the internal causes, J Boldbaatar and D Lundeejantsan describe:

1. The system of government in the country was strengthened and one-party rule was established.

2. Many forms of ownership, especially private property, were strictly prohibited and were strictly adhered to in a centralized plan, rejecting market economy.

3. The spiritual life of society was governed by a single ideology, and pluralistic views were blocked.

4. Basically, it pursued a one-pillar foreign policy and narrowed its relations with the Soviet Union and the countries of the socialist system.^[363]

In order to revise the Constitution of the Republic of Mongolia, Resolution No 20 of 2 February 1989 of the Politburo of the People's Revolutionary Party on ‘Approving the Commission for Revision of the Constitution of the Republic of Mongolia' was approved.^[364]

Under the previous system, or in the socialist society, Mongolians enjoyed socio-economic human rights such as education, protection of health, living in a healthy and safe environment, employment, receiving wages, loss of working capacity, and loss of breadwinner, and enjoyed government opportunities to an appropriate extent.

When listing the reasons for the adoption of the Constitution of Mongolia in 1992, it is appropriate to evaluate it from the political, economic, social, intel­lectual and spiritual aspects of society. Considering the political sphere:

1. People of that time discussed the importance of organising the Government through democratic elections, aimed at abolishing the one-party system and creating pluralism. In this regard, the leaders of the People's Democratic Party, which was in power, made decisions in support of this. For example, in April 1990, the extraordinary congress of the People's Revolutionary Party fully accepted the transition to democracy and the market. Consequently, the 21st Congress of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party refused to imple­ment the idea of socialism in the party's policy, and fundamentally changed the party's goals, characteristics and ideals. In the framework of this work, the general secretary of the party, B Dash-Yondon published a major article, ‘Renewal of Thought is the Basis for Progressing Out of the Crisis, which contributed to the development of the party's theoretical thinking and practical activities, which attracted the interest of domestic and foreign readers.^[366]

2. Western countries had been actively working to spread the understanding of democracy and human rights in the countries that were in the socialist camp, and have been giving training, advertising, and recommendations about the new democratic Constitution and human rights.

In order to move into the market economy, first of all, it was necessary to change property relations, which is the main economic relationship, and it was written that equal conditions for the free development of many forms of property, equal economic rights and inviolability must be protected by law’.^[367] In order to create multiple forms of ownership, there was a need to ‘rent state property, sell it at a revalued price or at a discounted price, and put it in the form of shares’.

Another important condition for the transition to the market economy was the renewal of land relations, and it was determined that land should be assessed, leased to communities and individuals, and citizens should be allowed to own and inherit land for private business and services, as well as for housing construction. Changing the rigid price system set by the state to a new price system governed by the laws of market supply and demand was the most difficult and counterproduc­tive task. For this reason, the goal was to implement the process gradually. The Government stopped setting the prices of all goods and services, and took part in setting prices, not as a setter, but as a regulator.

According to Kh Selenge,

The idea that law depends on the economy of the Marxist philosophy of the social­ist era is still weakening the role of law in society, distorting the attitude towards law, reducing its importance and value, and thus causing significant obstacles to social development.^[368]

From this, it can be understood that Selenge supports the idea that ‘law does not depend on economics’. She also criticised the concept of division of society into classes, which gave more importance to material things during socialism and divided the society into classes as long as property is in the hands of a group of people. In Marxism-Leninism, social life is primary and consciousness is secondary. As a result, there is still a misconception that focusing too much on material things and that if property increases and the economy improves, negative social phenomena will naturally decrease.^[369] Considering the economic framework:

1. The collapse of the centrally planned economy led to the need to create a new market supporting free market. All sectors of the economy were in deep crisis, and there was no other way out but to make decisive changes. On the other hand, it was creating content that violated the supply and demand of the market; content must be produced but it doesn’t have to be sold.

2. Animal husbandry, the main economic sector in Mongolia, had stagnated. From the 1960s to 1990s, 22 to 23 million animals had been counted annu­ally. However, one year, it did not grow at all. In fact, the measures taken and investments had increased enormously. Because of this, it was considered that animal husbandry had come to a standstill. In other words, it can be concluded that it had made the breeders less interested in raising livestock. The material interests of herdsmen was no longer attracted by the socialist economy.

3. The leaders of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika, such as the head of the Council of Ministers or the head of the Government, Dumaagiin Sodnom, and Tsogtyn Namsrai, the secretary of the Central Committee of the People’s Republic of Mongolia, have openly shared their views on reforming Mongolia’s economic policy with the public since the mid-1980s.

4. Judging by foreign trade transactions, the Government cannot set domes­tic prices. This is because economists recognised that domestic prices could not be used in foreign cooperation. It was understood long ago by the lead­ers of the country that it is against the security of not only economic but also national independence. It is clear that our country cannot stand alone against this drastic global change and exist in the old way. In particular, the neighbouring great powers on both sides of our country were moving to market economic relations, which has also forced Mongolians to change their economic system.^[370] After Perestroika, Mongolians took the extreme view that the free market could do everything without regulation, and the socialist economy of that time collapsed.

5. The alleged goal of Perestroika, however, was not to end the command econ­omy but rather to make socialism work more efficiently to better meet the needs of Soviet citizens by adopting elements of liberal economics.^[371]

6. The state budget was not formed, and the organisations financed by the budget were unable to pay their salaries.

In terms of the social framework:

1. During the old system, ‘by making social justice the basic principle of the country’s development, citizens were divided into social classes and differ­ent policies were implemented’, according to G Chuluunbaatar.^[372] Differences between social classes had increased, and equality had begun to disappear. Members of the People’s Revolutionary Party had priority. When it came to disciplinary punishment, party members were treated separately and other citizens were treated differently.

2. After World War II, when collectivisation and abolishment of private property had resulted in new social relationships, including ethnicity, the Mongolian People's Republic entered a new phase of development. Indeed, in 1959 the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party declared ‘the total victory of socialist relations of production in the rural economy' and began to promote the formation of socialist ‘new man' and socialist relationships.^[373]

For the intellectual framework:

1. For the Mongolian people, when they wanted spiritual change, it was consid­ered appropriate to follow global changes as an intellectual or well-informed group, but at the typical level of consciousness, there was an expectation to restore traditions, customs, history and culture, to be real Mongolians and to rule the state without being dictated to by others - the Soviet Union.

2. What was denied during 70 years of socialism? The main denial was that Mongolians were forbidden to be Mongolians. On the other hand, issues of private property and human rights became driving factors.

3. In the mid-1970s, the concept of ‘nomadic feudalism' appeared in the field of academic research against the classifications of ‘backward' and ‘uncivi­lised' based on the concept of the hierarchy of social evolution during the late period of socialism. It was a concept that broke Marx's five-stage order of social evolution by claiming that nomads had citizenship.^[374] This is an exam­ple of the incompatibility between the traditional Mongolian lifestyle and Marx's theory.

4. The questions ‘Is there a Mongolian nation? Will national cultural iden­tity be preserved?' arose among Mongolians. Marxism-Leninism denies a Mongolian nation and being Mongolian, and the socialist camp forced every­one to be the same as if they were cast in the same mould. Rather than a nation that has preserved its national identity, the concept of a Soviet nation and a Soviet person, cast in the same mould, did not suit the Mongolians.

5. With their lifestyle being rejected by communism, Mongolians missed their traditional way of life. Also, by 1990, the Soviet Union stopped to conduct the economy, build housing estates and factories in Mongolia, and train a large number of professional personnel in Soviet countries as previously. The consumption of various goods were forbidden in the communist regime, for example, Coca-Cola, jeans, machinery, cigarettes, etc, but the demand for these goods increased. On the other hand, new forms of dance, art, music, culture, and sports touched the hearts of the people and created the expectation that everything would be perfect once the transition to democ­racy took place.

In addition, it is possible to say that Mongolians wanted national unity in the spiritual realm, in particular, national identities. As S Narangerel said, ‘For Mongolians with a small population, national unity has always been a source of strength and more than anything else’.^[375] It is doubtful if there was any real knowl­edge of human rights. Because the concept of human rights is still not fully formed in Mongolia, it is therefore impossible to conclude that human rights were felt and fully known in 1990. In particular, the understanding of the 1960 Constitution, which was in force at that time, was low. Since everything was managed and coor­dinated by the Central Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party, there was little need for citizens to understand public laws.

It is natural to legislate on the inviolability of state borders, human bodies and private property, voluntary marriage between men and women, and remuneration commensurate with the quality of someone’s work. However, if a law is passed in order to arrest an innocent person, to marry someone who does not consent to marriage, to impose excessive taxes, and to confiscate someone’s property, it would be arbitrary. The difference between the two is vast. Therefore, the law is drafted to reflect the common interests and will of the people as much as possible, and to reflect the nature of the relationship. Laws that meet such requirements are consid­ered natural. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and adopt the correct wording in strict accordance with the rules established by law.^[376]

The Constitution guarantees the country’s sovereignty by letting the people decide the fundamental issues for the state and country’s existence, namely ‘who will exercise the supreme state power’ and providing this power to the Mongolia citizens. Furthermore, it acts as a double guarantee of the country’s sovereignty by allowing it to choose the parliamentary system, which aims to avoid giving absolute power to one person and to decide the key issues of the country through majority consensus.^[377]

III.