While the most recent egyptian constitution, adopted in 1971, specifies the rights and responsibilities of these three branches, the country is still heavily engaged in the process of filling out the meaning of this text in practice. This controversy goes back to 1971, when article 2 of the new egyptian constitution stated that the principles of islamic sharia are the main source of legislation. September 1971 and promulgated by the president on the same day. The egyptian people are part of the arab nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity. This report, the first in a series dealing with the new egyptian constitution, analyzes the constitutional articles pertaining to several issues and compares them to the egyptian constitution of 1971.
That amendment has now taken place, drawing a firestorm of criticism from egyptian and international human rights organizations. During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. With its unique location and history, egypt is the arab heart of the world. This is our constitution, egypt is the gift of the nile for egyptians and the gift of egyptians to humanity. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free online library. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt was the former constitution of egypt. The constitution adopted in 2014, like the constitution drafted under morsi, is based on the egyptian constitution of 1971 the 2014 constitution sets up a president and parliament. The political regime of the arab republic of egypt is based upon the multiparty system within the framework of the basic principles and components of the egyptian society stipulated by the constitution. The 1971 constitution is the fourth adopted constitution since the declaration of the republic and is known as the permanent egyptian constitution al though, since its. Article 2 islam is the religion of the state and arabic its official language. In reality, they represented the breadth of the egyptian state as well as statelicensed bodies. The amendment that restructured the presidential election. It was accepted by the electorate and is now the law of the land. It is proud to belong to the nile basin and the african continent, reach into asia, and contribute positively to human civilization.
The state shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt 1971 we, the people. The new constitution of egypt is on the verge of being drafted. Constitution arabic the arabic version of the egyptian constitution, including amendments made in 2005. More specifically, article 19 believes that the new egyptian constitution must contain a substantive chapter or section devoted to the protection of human rights, in the form of a bill. Whereas tunisia started from scratch and completely abandoned its 1959 constitution, the egyptian drafting committee massaged existing articles, removed others and.
Constitution of the arab republic of egypt refworld. Constitution of egypt constitution, egypt britannica. The 2014 egyptian constitution by maria gloria polimeno 3 2012. In addition, history confirms the islamist existence as inscribed into. Succeeded by the constitution of egypt of 2012 the constitution of egypt of 1971 was the supreme law of the arab republic of egypt. The constitution was adopted by a referendum on 11. The first and most liberal of these was the 1923 constitution, which was promulgated just after britain declared egypts independence. The contempt of courts act, 1971 an act to define and limit the powers of certain courts in punishing contempts of courts and to regulate their procedure in relation thereto.
The role of parliament in the egyptian constitution. Constitution and the 1971 constitution, it is clear that there are egyptian constitutional traditions that continued to exist throughout these three constitutions. Eleventh of september 1971 that we accept and grant ourselves this constitution, asserting. Egypts government services portal egypt constitution. Be it enacted by parliament in the twentysecond year of the republic of india as follows. The economic foundation of the arab republic of egypt is the socialist democratic.
Provisions of the constitution summarized preamble the new constitution is the first to be drafted in the name of the egyptian people. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt, 1971 as. The constitution defines the structure and functions of the state, the egyptian society, public freedoms, rights and obligations, the supremacy of the law, and the system of government napoli et al, 1995. Draft dated 30 november 2012 of the constitution of the arab republic of egypt. Blessed with a unique location and history, the arab nation of egypt is the heart of. This document was submitted to a referendum on june 23, 1956. Part i deals with the articles relating to the status of. The 1971 constitution is the fifth complete revision of virginias fundamental law since 1776other complete revisions having been effective in 1830, 1851, 1870, and 1902.
It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and party plurality. Under the constitution, there is a guarantee of equality between the sexes and an. Constitution did not specify an accusation or a felony in order to charge the president of the republic. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt department of justice. The president is elected to a fouryear term and may serve 2 terms.
Constitution of the arab republic of egypt part one the state article 1. The rule of the muslim brotherhood the struggle for the. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt last amended. We, the egyptian people, in the name of god and with his assistance pledge to indefinitely. An arabic version of the 20 draft constitution can be found here. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt, 11 sep. The nations last two presidents mohamed morsi and hosni mubarak are on trial. Public property is protected, and its defense and support is a duty incumbent on every citizen, according to the law. The provisional constitution of the arab republic of egypt was formulated in march 1958, and a joint national assembly was established. This inability reinforced the heterogenity of the islamist parties, which benefitted from the scarcity of political consciousness in civil and revolutionary actors to further pursue their campaign of mobilization. Some egyptian politicians see this constitution as a major threat to democracy and call for a solution to reintroduce the egyptian constitution of 1971, although in the new constitution as opposed to the old constitution the way to absolutism and autocracy is blocked, mainly due to the limitation of power of the president. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in.
This statement is being released as the formal deadline for the referendum on the new constitution of egypt, 15 december 2012, is just. Thus, in this context a return to the 2012 document is preferable. The egyptian constitution of 1971 and its amendment of 2007 stated that education was to be free through the primary school level, while the 2014 constitution requires the state to offer free education through high school. The egyptian judiciary shall carry out its mission in defending the constitution, upholding justice and protecting rights and freedoms. Statement on the freedom of expression and information provisions in the draft egyptian constitution. Freedom, human dignity,and social justice are the rights of every citizen.
The arab republic of egypt is a socialist democratic state based on the alliance of the working forces of the people. The economic foundation of the arab republic of egypt is the socialist democratic system based on sufficiency and justice, in a manner preventing exploitation, narrowing the gap between incomes. An examination of egypts draft constitution part i. The following table compares some of the most important articles as quoted from english translations of the 1971 constitution, the 2012 constitution, and the 20 draft constitution. The new antiterrorism law is likely to be introduced in 2008, before the state of emergency expires. Egypts controversial new constitution has been signed into law by president mohammed morsi, a day after he announced it had been approved by a large majority in a referendum that his opponents. The wording and content of the article was, however, improved upon in the 2012 version. In order to support the forthcoming work of the drafters, article 19 has produced a comprehensive policy brief outlining how the new constitution should protect the right to freedom of expression and freedom of information. This is especially the case with respect to the public prosecutor, whose. Several articles include stronger emphasis on religion than the 1971 constitution, yet its. Work for governance, the new egyptian constitution will have a lasting effect. The political system of the arab republic of egypt is a multiparty one, within the framework of the basic elements and principles of the egyptian society as stipulated in the constitution. Analaysis of 2012 egyptian constitution the center for constitutional transitions at new york university school of law has published a detailed commentary on the executive branch provisions of the 2012 constitutions, including, with recommended amendments in light of the current amendment process. The original translated text of the criminal procedure code 23 of 1971 was taken from the pdf file incorporating.
It was adopted on 11 september 1971 through a public referendum. History of the egyptian constitution metadata this file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Series of amendments to egypts 1971 constitution, in which the. It was made up of 350 elected members and remained effective until 10 february 1958, when the egyptian syrian merger was given force and the 1956 constitution revoked. Statement on the freedom of expression and information. But the 1971 constitution was more precise in this. Constitution of 1971, declaring egypt as democratic socialist state and guaranteeing the rights of individuals.
Egypt has operated under several constitutions, both as a monarchy and, after 1952, as a republic. That document laid the political and cultural groundwork for modern egypt, declaring it an. Seven upholding national unity is an obligation of state and society, for it is the cornerstone of building a modern egypt and the path to progress and development. The egyptian people forms part of both the arab and the islamic community umma.
Constitution of virginia foreword the virginia constitution of 1971 was approved by vote of the people on november 3, 1970, and became effective on july 1, 1971. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after the. The arab center for the development of the rule of law and. The state guarantees to remove encroachments thereon. However, the 1954 draft constitution procedural gave more.
Mohamed morsi signs egypts new constitution into law. These include what was contained in all three regarding both sides sharing many powers decision making of the process in the egyptian state. The question whether the 1971 constitution should be reformed or an entirely new constitution written became a major dispute in the aftermath of january 2011. One of the main points of contention among the egyptian public on the proposed new constitution is the status of islamic law sharia in state law. The economy in the arabic republic of egypt is based on developing economic activity and social justice and guaranteeing different forms of property and preserving the rights of workers. Challenges to the independence of judges and prosecutors in egypt february 2014 executive summary today, egypts acting president is a judge. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt part i the state article 1 1 the arab republic of egypt is a democratic state based on citizenship. The egyptian drafting process for the 2014 and the 2012 constitutions was based on a series of amendments to its 1971 constitution, which is a document already fraught with flaws. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after. Egypts 2012 constitution devil in the details, not in religion summary amid intense political contestation and deep rifts between islamists and liberal political forces, egypts new constitution was adopted on december 22, 2012.
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