Chapter
6:
Legal
and
regulatory
framework
of
Water
Law
6.2.3
Constitution
25
The
Constitution
was
adopted
by
referendum
in
1991
and
was
last
amended
in
2001.
Constitutions
are
often
considered
the
highest
source
of
law
within
a
state.
The
Yemen
Constitution
establishes
Shari’ah
as
the
highest
source
of
law.
The
Constitution
does
not
mention
water
often,
but
it
does
frame
relevant
concepts
to
water,
such
as
ownership.
Secondly,
the
Constitution
provides
the
basis
for
the
adoption
of
national
laws
concerning
26
water
management.
6.2.4
Water
Law
27
The
Water
Law
No.
(33)
was
issued
in
August
2002
after
a
long
process
of
drafting,
discussion
and
amending.
This
law
can
be
seen
as
Yemen’s
first
attempt
at
drafting
legislation
for
Integrated
Water
Resource
Management
(IWRM).
After
the
adoption
of
this
law,
more
legislation
on
this
topic
soon
followed.
Due
to
the
long
process
and
the
weighing
of
stakeholder
interests
while
drafting,
certain
topics
were
left
open
or
were
not
satisfactorily
covered.
A
number
of
regulations
such
as
Republican
Decrees,
Resolutions
and
the
Ministry
28
of
Water
and
Environment’s
Decree
were
issued
subsequently
to
support
and
enforce
the
Water
Law.
6.2.5
Civil
Code
The
first
Civil
Code
of
Yemen
was
adopted
in
1992
It
made
strong
reference
to
Shari’ah
when
it
stated:
‘If
no
text
in
this
law
is
applicable,
reference
shall
be
made
to
the
principles
of
th P