The wording and content of the article was, however, improved upon in the 2012 version. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt last amended. 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 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. 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. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free online library. The original translated text of the criminal procedure code 23 of 1971 was taken from the pdf file incorporating. The egyptian judiciary shall carry out its mission in defending the constitution, upholding justice and protecting rights and freedoms. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after.
Series of amendments to egypts 1971 constitution, in which the. An arabic version of the 20 draft constitution can be found here. 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. Eleventh of september 1971 that we accept and grant ourselves this constitution, asserting.
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. 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. The new antiterrorism law is likely to be introduced in 2008, before the state of emergency expires. Article 2 islam is the religion of the state and arabic its official language. It was accepted by the electorate and is now the law of the land. The new constitution of egypt is on the verge of being drafted. This statement is being released as the formal deadline for the referendum on the new constitution of egypt, 15 december 2012, is just. Statement on the freedom of expression and information provisions in the draft egyptian constitution. Islam is the states religion, and arabic is its official language. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free. 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.
Statement on the freedom of expression and information. Part i deals with the articles relating to the status of. Public property is protected, and its defense and support is a duty incumbent on every citizen, according to the law. In addition, history confirms the islamist existence as inscribed into. 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 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 constitution of the arab republic of egypt after the. 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. Work for governance, the new egyptian constitution will have a lasting effect. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt 1971 we, the people. The nations last two presidents mohamed morsi and hosni mubarak are on trial.
Constitution of the arab republic of egypt refworld. The president is elected to a fouryear term and may serve 2 terms. 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. Constitution did not specify an accusation or a felony in order to charge the president of the republic. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt was the former constitution of egypt. 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. The egyptian people, is the sole source of authority. 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. These include what was contained in all three regarding both sides sharing many powers decision making of the process in the egyptian state. Constitution and the 1971 constitution, it is clear that there are egyptian constitutional traditions that continued to exist throughout these three constitutions. This is especially the case with respect to the public prosecutor, whose.
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, 11 sep. That amendment has now taken place, drawing a firestorm of criticism from egyptian and international human rights organizations. Constitution arabic the arabic version of the egyptian constitution, including amendments made in 2005. Whereas tunisia started from scratch and completely abandoned its 1959 constitution, the egyptian drafting committee massaged existing articles, removed others and. 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 one the state article 1. 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 state shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt department of justice. 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. The 2014 egyptian constitution by maria gloria polimeno 3 2012. 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 1971 constitution is the fifth complete revision of virginias fundamental law since 1776other complete revisions having been effective in 1830, 1851, 1870, and 1902. 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. The rule of the muslim brotherhood the struggle for the. The egyptian people forms part of both the arab and the islamic community umma. Blessed with a unique location and history, the arab nation of egypt is the heart of.
The arab republic of egypt is a socialist democratic state based on the alliance of the working forces of the people. It is proud to belong to the nile basin and the african continent, reach into asia, and contribute positively to human civilization. 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 people are part of the arab nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity. Constitution of egypt constitution, egypt britannica.
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 role of parliament in the egyptian constitution. 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. We, the egyptian people, in the name of god and with his assistance pledge to indefinitely. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt, 1971 as. Succeeded by the constitution of egypt of 2012 the constitution of egypt of 1971 was the supreme law of the arab republic of egypt. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in.
Egypt has operated under several constitutions, both as a monarchy and, after 1952, as a republic. Draft dated 30 november 2012 of the constitution of the arab republic of egypt. Mohamed morsi signs egypts new constitution into law. An examination of egypts draft constitution part i. Freedom, human dignity,and social justice are the rights of every citizen.
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 amendment that restructured the presidential election. It was adopted on 11 september 1971 through a public referendum. The provisional constitution of the arab republic of egypt was formulated in march 1958, and a joint national assembly was established. Thus, in this context a return to the 2012 document is preferable. 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. The economic foundation of the arab republic of egypt is the socialist democratic. The state guarantees to remove encroachments thereon. In reality, they represented the breadth of the egyptian state as well as statelicensed bodies.
This document was submitted to a referendum on june 23, 1956. Constitution of 1971, declaring egypt as democratic socialist state and guaranteeing the rights of individuals. 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. September 1971 and promulgated by the president on the same day. But the 1971 constitution was more precise in this. Egypts government services portal egypt constitution. Under the constitution, there is a guarantee of equality between the sexes and an. The arab center for the development of the rule of law and. Several articles include stronger emphasis on religion than the 1971 constitution, yet its. Challenges to the independence of judges and prosecutors in egypt february 2014 executive summary today, egypts acting president is a judge. During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. The constitution was adopted by a referendum on 11.
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. Be it enacted by parliament in the twentysecond year of the republic of india as follows. 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. With its unique location and history, egypt is the arab heart of the world. That document laid the political and cultural groundwork for modern egypt, declaring it an. The first and most liberal of these was the 1923 constitution, which was promulgated just after britain declared egypts independence. 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. 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.
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