Whereas tunisia started from scratch and completely abandoned its 1959 constitution, the egyptian drafting committee massaged existing articles, removed others and. Provisions of the constitution summarized preamble the new constitution is the first to be drafted in the name of the egyptian people. In reality, they represented the breadth of the egyptian state as well as statelicensed bodies. Eleventh of september 1971 that we accept and grant ourselves this constitution, asserting. Statement on the freedom of expression and information provisions in the draft egyptian constitution. Public property is protected, and its defense and support is a duty incumbent on every citizen, according to the law. Constitution and the 1971 constitution, it is clear that there are egyptian constitutional traditions that continued to exist throughout these three constitutions. Egypts government services portal egypt constitution. 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 of the arab republic of egypt, 1971 as.
The constitution was adopted by a referendum on 11. This is especially the case with respect to the public prosecutor, whose. 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 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. 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 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. Constitution of egypt constitution, egypt britannica. The first and most liberal of these was the 1923 constitution, which was promulgated just after britain declared egypts independence. Be it enacted by parliament in the twentysecond year of the republic of india as follows. Under the constitution, there is a guarantee of equality between the sexes and an. Part i deals with the articles relating to the status of. 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. 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 constitution of the arab republic of egypt was the former constitution of egypt. The original translated text of the criminal procedure code 23 of 1971 was taken from the pdf file incorporating. Work for governance, the new egyptian constitution will have a lasting effect. In addition, history confirms the islamist existence as inscribed into. 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. Series of amendments to egypts 1971 constitution, in which the. The rule of the muslim brotherhood the struggle for the. 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 economic foundation of the arab republic of egypt is the socialist democratic. Constitution of 1971, declaring egypt as democratic socialist state and guaranteeing the rights of individuals. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt after. Constitution arabic the arabic version of the egyptian constitution, including amendments made in 2005. 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 fifth complete revision of virginias fundamental law since 1776other complete revisions having been effective in 1830, 1851, 1870, and 1902. Freedom, human dignity,and social justice are the rights of every citizen. The 2014 egyptian constitution by maria gloria polimeno 3 2012. The amendment that restructured the presidential election. Thus, in this context a return to the 2012 document is preferable. 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. Egypt has operated under several constitutions, both as a monarchy and, after 1952, as a republic.
This document was submitted to a referendum on june 23, 1956. 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. Islam is the states religion, and arabic is its official language. Article 2 islam is the religion of the state and arabic its official language. The wording and content of the article was, however, improved upon in the 2012 version.
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 egyptian people forms part of both the arab and the islamic community umma. These include what was contained in all three regarding both sides sharing many powers decision making of the process in the egyptian state. The egyptian people are part of the arab nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity.
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. This statement is being released as the formal deadline for the referendum on the new constitution of egypt, 15 december 2012, is just. Several articles include stronger emphasis on religion than the 1971 constitution, yet its. With its unique location and history, egypt is the arab heart of the world. 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. The state shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens.
Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free. The arab republic of egypt is a socialist democratic state based on the alliance of the working forces of the people. 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. 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. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt refworld. 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.
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 of the arab republic of egypt after the. The provisional constitution of the arab republic of egypt was formulated in march 1958, and a joint national assembly was established. This is our constitution, egypt is the gift of the nile for egyptians and the gift of egyptians to humanity. The new antiterrorism law is likely to be introduced in 2008, before the state of emergency expires. The nations last two presidents mohamed morsi and hosni mubarak are on trial. But the 1971 constitution was more precise in this. Blessed with a unique location and history, the arab nation of egypt is the heart of. It is proud to belong to the nile basin and the african continent, reach into asia, and contribute positively to human civilization. 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. An arabic version of the 20 draft constitution can be found here. 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. 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.
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. 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. An examination of egypts draft constitution part i. Constitution of egypt of 1971 wikisource, the free online library. Statement on the freedom of expression and information. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and party plurality. That document laid the political and cultural groundwork for modern egypt, declaring it an. Draft dated 30 november 2012 of the constitution of the arab republic of egypt. The president is elected to a fouryear term and may serve 2 terms. Challenges to the independence of judges and prosecutors in egypt february 2014 executive summary today, egypts acting president is a judge.
It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in. It was adopted on 11 september 1971 through a public referendum. We, the egyptian people, in the name of god and with his assistance pledge to indefinitely. September 1971 and promulgated by the president on the same day. The role of parliament in the egyptian constitution. Mohamed morsi signs egypts new constitution into law. 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. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt last amended. The egyptian judiciary shall carry out its mission in defending the constitution, upholding justice and protecting rights and freedoms. 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. The constitution of the arab republic of egypt, 11 sep. The arab center for the development of the rule of law and.
It was accepted by the electorate and is now the law of the land. 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. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt department of justice. The new constitution of egypt is on the verge of being drafted. The state guarantees to remove encroachments thereon. 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. However, the 1954 draft constitution procedural gave more. 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. Constitution of the arab republic of egypt part one the state article 1.
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