Its re-published version consists of a preamble (Arar) and five main chapters (Qaybo) each of which is subdivided into parts (Xubno).

The State of Somaliland had its own Constitution which was drafted in early 1960, and was briefly in place.

Under article 151, the constitution shall be implemented for a period of three years from its approval in February 1997 and shall come into force fully once a referendum has been held.

[citation needed] Although initially the Somaliland government proposed fairly extensive amendments to the constitution in 1999, the final revised constitution is not very different from the last one and the reduction of the number of articles from 156 to 130 has been largely achieved by the amalgamation of some articles, rather than by extensive repeals.

Unlike the earlier draft proposals, the parts of the constitution relating to directive principles and to human rights have all been retained.