Work for governance, the new egyptian constitution will have a lasting effect. Comparing egypts constitutions egyptians will soon vote in a referendum on a new constitution, their second in just over a year. The egyptian people are part of the arab nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity. The constitutional history of modern egypt can be traced back to the egyptian revolution of 1919. Egypts draft constitution translated egypt independent. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt 1971 we, the people. The egyptian organization for human rights currently houses the headquarters of the constitutional front and the. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after the. The new egyptian constitution the threeyear transitional period proclaimed by the revolutionary command council rcc as a prelude to the introduction of representative democracy in egypt came to an end january 16, 1956, when prime minister gamal abd alnasir introduced before a large cairo assembly the draft of a new constitution. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free. We, the egyptian people, in the name of god and with his assistance pledge to indefinitely and unconditionally exert every effort to realize. Comparing egypts 1971 constitution to today egypt news.
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. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt was the former constitution of egypt. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free online library.
That amendment has now taken place, drawing a firestorm of criticism from egyptian and international human rights organizations. The 1971 constitution is the fourth adopted constitution since the declaration of the republic and is known as the permanent egyptian constitution although, since its ratification, it has been amended three times by two presidents. However, compared to the 1971 constitution or the 20. In 2005 egypt held its first presidential election in which multiple candidates vied for the office and which was conducted by popular vote. The provisional constitution of the arab republic of egypt was formulated in march. The wording and content of the article was, however, improved upon in the 2012 version. The new antiterrorism law is likely to be introduced in 2008, before the state of emergency expires. The egyptian transition the demise of the 1971 constitution. Following rising agitations against britain, which had governed the territory as a protectorate since 1914, and increasing demands for independence, british rule over the territory was formally terminated under the terms of a joint declaration between britain and egypt in 1922. Whereas tunisia started from scratch and completely abandoned its 1959 constitution, the egyptian drafting committee massaged existing articles, removed others and. 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. Indepth analysis of the main elements of the new constitution. Article 19 of the egyptian constitution of 2014 guarantees the right to education to every citizen and makes education compulsory through high school or. Egyptian constitutional reform and the fight against.
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. See the article in its original context from september, 1971, page 7 buy. Key elements of egypts constitution are at odds with international legal obligations and. We and our future generations are masters in a sovereign homeland that is master of its destiny. Thus, in this context a return to the 2012 document is preferable. This is especially the case with respect to the public prosecutor, whose. Amid fierce debate over egypts draft constitution, fikra forum editors asked egyptian human rights experts hafez abu saeda and magdi khalil to analyze the draft with respect to human rights, religious freedom, and democratic values. Armed institutions in egyptian constitutions al jazeera. Egyptian human rights experts analyze the draft constitution.
Hafez abu saeda is the head of the egyptian organization for human rights and magdi khalil is the executive director of the middle east freedom forum. This is our constitution, egypt is the gift of the nile for egyptians and the gift of egyptians to humanity. 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. Series of amendments to egypts 1971 constitution, in which the. And after taking into account article 183 of the constitution of the arab republic of egypt. The 2014 constitution sets up a president and parliament. September 1971 and promulgated by the president on the same day.
Constitution of the arab republic of egypt refworld. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and party plurality. The egyptian judiciary shall carry out its mission in defending the constitution, upholding justice and protecting rights and freedoms. In that video from a public meeting on 19 january 2018, elsisi criticized the old constitution i assume constitution 1971 for giving the president too much power. The arab center for the development of the rule of law and. Egypts government services portal laws and constitution.
We are drafting a constitution that achieves equality between us in rights and duties. Public corruption and the egyptian revolution of january 25. This doing business in egypt report has been prepared with the aim of providing a guide of the egyptian laws as they currently stand and as are relevant to conducting business operations in the. The weakness of the egyptian constitution does not lie in its vagueness, but rather in the juxtaposition of extremely detailed provisions and, on the other hand, vague announcements. The state shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens. The draft of the egyptian constitution, which will shortly be submitted to a referendum, is largely an aspirational document painting a picture of egypt as a modern, progressive welfare statean unattainable goal for the bankrupt country. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt part one the state article 1. 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 and the manner in which it was adopted have been one focus of the 2012 egyptian protests. The constitution was adopted by a referendum on 11. Egyptian law prohibited both financial corruption 1 and torture, 2 yet mubarak used his powers under the constitution of 1971 to subvert the enforcement of egyptian law in order to. Egypts government services portal egypt constitution. Translations of modern egypts constitutions digitalcommons. In 1971 a new egyptian constitution was adopted by referendum to replace the interim constitution of 1964. That interview with cnbc that was aired in november 2017 is also shared virally where he said that he would not stay in power more than what was mentioned in the 2014. Blessed with a unique location and history, the arab nation of egypt is the heart of. Issues the constitution of the arab republic of egypt in the attached text. It was adopted on 11 september 1971 through a public referendum. Following the removal of then president mohamed morsi from office on july 3, egypts militarybacked. The president is elected to a fouryear term and may serve 2 terms. With its unique location and history, egypt is the arab heart of the world.
The constitution adopted in 2014, like the constitution drafted under morsi, is based on the egyptian constitution of 1971. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt, 1971 as. Draft dated 30 november 2012 of the constitution of the arab republic of egypt. The egyptian people, is the sole source of authority.
The privileges of the army in egyptian constitutions have steadily expanded since the 1952 coup. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt, held on september, 11th 1971 and the unanimity of the peoples consensus of the constitution. Constitution of 1971, declaring egypt as democratic socialist state and guaranteeing the rights of individuals. Freedom, human dignity,and social justice are the rights of every citizen. Zaghoul elbalshi, the general secretary of the commission overseeing the planned constitutional referendum, resigned in the wake of the protests the 2012 constitution was superseded by the egyptian constitution of 2014. In the 1971 constitution, the president had powers almost equal to those of the monarch. 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. Constitution preamble we, the people of egypt, in the name of the merciful god and with his aid, declare this to be our constitution, the document of the 25th of january revolution, which was started by our youth, embraced by our people, supported by our armed forces. The spread of corruption and torture represented the grossest and most palpable failures of the regime to live up to the aspirations of the egyptian state. More specifically, article 19 believes that the new egyptian constitution must contain a substantive chapter or section.
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