Constitution of the Republic of Egypt

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Basic data
Title: Constitution of the Republic of Egypt
Type: Constitution
Scope: Egypt
Legal matter: Constitutional law
Issued on: December 2013
Entry into force on: January 2014
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The current Egyptian constitution of 2014 ( Arabic دستور مصر) has existed since a referendum in January 2014. The Egyptian constitution of 1971 was previously replaced by a transitional constitution after the 2011 revolution and this in turn was replaced by another constitution after the referendum held under President Mohammed Morsi in 2012, which resulted in Morsi's deposition by the military had been suspended until further notice.

1971 Constitution

The constitution was adopted by a constitutional referendum in 1971 . When President Husni Mubarak was forced to resign on February 11, 2011 due to violent protests by the Egyptian people, the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, led by Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, took power in cooperation with the Supreme Constitutional Court . In addition to Tantawi, the 18-member military council includes the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces and several other high-ranking officers. As a result, the Military Council published several declarations in which it specified its ideas about political change. In one of the first statements on February 11, 2011, it said:

The state of emergency , which has been in force since 1981, should be lifted as soon as the situation permits, and elections should again be monitored by the judicial authorities. The constitution should be revised so that free and fair presidential elections could be held.

On February 13, 2011, the Supreme Military Council dissolved the parliament elected under Mubarak ( People's Assembly and Shura Council ) and suspended the constitution that had been in force until then. New parliamentary and presidential elections should take place in 6 months at the latest. The swift repeal of the constitution that had been in force at that time was necessary, otherwise new elections would have to be scheduled within 60 days of the resignation of the president. For example, Article 84 of the constitution that was in force until then.

Transitional constitution 2011 to 2012

The military leadership set up an eight-person committee to draft the constitutional amendments. Within ten days, the committee should submit a draft for a new Basic Law, which should then be voted on in a referendum. The former judge Tariq al-Bischri chaired the meeting . None of the members belonged to the eleven-member committee that had been entrusted by Mubarak with a revision of the constitution shortly before his departure.

From the outset, however, the committee's options were severely limited by the military leadership. A completely new constitution should not be drawn up. Only six articles (of the current constitution) should / could be revised. Five articles (Articles 76, 77, 88, 93 and 189) dealt with the modalities of presidential elections. Article 179 should be changed / deleted because, in the name of the fight against terrorism, fundamental civil rights guaranteed in the constitution (Art. 41 - Individual freedom, protection from arbitrary arrests, intervention of judicial assessment, Art. 44 - Inviolability of the home, Art. 45 - Protection of privacy, protection of the secrecy of letters, mail and telecommunications) could be exposed. In addition, according to Art. 179, the President could freely decide before which court (civil, military or special / state security court) the case of a suspect should be heard.

The changes to the constitution made by the committee were presented to the Egyptian public on March 4, 2011. On March 19, it was voted in a referendum and the amended constitution was approved by the majority of the population. On March 30, the interim constitution was officially put into effect by the Military Council.

2012 Constitution

As of April 2012 , the new constitution was drawn up by a constituent assembly in which the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists had a majority of the 100 seats. The new constitution was adopted in a referendum on December 15 and 22, 2012 by the Egyptian population with 64% of the votes and a turnout of 33%. President Morsi signed it on December 26th. However, the constitution has been criticized by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch , as some fundamental rights (such as women's rights or the rights of religious minorities) have in fact been destroyed by restrictions and vague language. Many non-governmental organizations consider the new constitution to be worse than any previous constitution.

The new constitution contained some passages taken over from the 1971 constitution, but was heavily modified in some points. It represented a departure from the presidential system by limiting the power of the president in favor of parliament. In addition, the powers of the military were curtailed, freedom of assembly and the press were strengthened, and detention without a judicial decision was prohibited. Nonetheless, the constitution met with fierce criticism from the opposition and abroad because it was strongly influenced by Islam and did not adequately protect the rights of women and minorities. Among other things, the new constitution gave religious scholars from al-Azhar University an important position in the legislative process and guaranteed religious freedom only for Muslims, Christians and Jews. In addition, a passage from the 1971 constitution was retained, which declared Sharia law to be the most important basis of law. Finally, concerns were expressed that the naming of vaguely worded moral and social principles that the state has to protect could be misused to justify restrictions on fundamental rights under constitutional law.

On the other hand, in a comparison of the Egyptian constitution of 2012 with the constitution of 1971, other analysts noted that the new constitution, in contrast to the constitution of 1971, blocked the path to absolutism and autocracy. Mainly because the president was only to be elected for four years instead of six years and could only be re-elected once. The experiences in Egypt and other Arab countries after their independence had shown that the rulers never wanted to resign and wanted to bequeath power to their children. According to the older constitutions, it was hardly possible for a person to stand seriously against the incumbent Egyptian president. However, there are also several controversial points in the Egyptian constitution of 2012. In particular, Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution of 2012 was heavily criticized. It read: "Islam is the state religion and the Arabic language is the official language and the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation". However, the same wording also existed in the Egyptian constitution of 1971, in the form amended in 1980 and in all transitional constitutions that had been passed by the Egyptian military after the Egyptian revolution. This article does not originally come from the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafists, but from the time of President Al-Sadat. Article 4 was new in the 2012 constitution. According to this, al-Azhar would be consulted on matters relating to Islamic Sharia law. This article too did not come originally from the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafists, but from the opposition. The opposition has often argued that they are also Muslims and not against Sharia law, but against the interpretation of Sharia law by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists. But they are not against the interpretation of the Sharia by the moderate Al-Azhaar institution. Art. 81 would also be criticized. According to this, the fundamental rights and freedoms should not conflict with Chapter 1 of the constitution. Chapter 1 included Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution. However, in the old constitution of 1971 the rights of women were also provided within the framework of the Islamic Sharia (Article 11 of the old constitution).

Shortly after the upheaval in Egypt in 2013 , the constitution was repealed. The interim president Adli Mansur said that a referendum would be held to amend the Islamist-oriented constitution. This should take place before the parliamentary elections.

2014 Constitution

At the beginning of December 2013, the appointed “Council of 50” presented a new draft constitution. The referendum on the new constitution took place on January 8th and 12th, 2014. The constitution guarantees the people of Egypt more rights, so women are guaranteed equal rights and children and neglected population groups like the Upper Egyptian Nubians are guaranteed the protection of the state. The Copts and Jews are given more autonomy, and torture and human trafficking are prohibited. Even that is freedom of assembly and the freedom of the press guaranteed. Sharia as the source of law is much less valid than before. Furthermore, the section on the threat of punishment for blasphemy against Mohammed has been deleted. Parties on a “religious basis” are no longer permitted, and Islamic legal scholars have no decision-making power over legislation. The Supreme Constitutional Court is responsible for judicial review. The two-chamber parliament with the People's Chamber and the Shura Council will be replaced as a single-chamber parliament in favor of the House of Representatives. The new constitution was adopted with a participation of 38.6% of the electorate with 98.1% of the votes cast.

See also

Web links

Wikisource: Provisional Constitution of the Republic of Egypt 2011  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Transitional constitution: Egyptians should elect a new president in autumn. In: Spiegel online . March 30, 2011, accessed January 23, 2012 .
  2. ^ Coup in Cairo: Egypt's military overthrows Mursi Spiegel Online, July 3, 2013, accessed on July 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Government of Egypt: Formation of the Armed Forces Supreme Council
  4. ^ Statements of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
  5. ^ Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces February 11, 2011: Statement of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (2)
  6. ^ Frankfurter Rundschau-Online February 13, 2011: After the riots: The new Egypt
  7. ↑ a b Egyptian government. Communication: Suspension of the Constitution
  8. ^ Frankfurter Rundschau-Online February 14, 2011: Army dissolves parliament: Egypt is cleaning up
  9. ^ Taz February 16, 2011: The New Tahrir Consciousness
  10. ^ Spiegel-Online February 14, 2011: Military Council promises a quick referendum
  11. ↑ taz February 15, 2011: New constitution is on the way.
  12. ↑ Handelsblatt February 9, 2011: Revision of the constitution: There is a lot at stake for Egypt's army
  13. ^ Translation of the new Egyptian constitution - warreporting.com of December 2, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012
  14. ↑ Human Rights Watch criticizes Egyptian draft constitution. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 2, 2013 ; Retrieved October 15, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zeit.de
  15. ^ Egyptian Constituent Assembly close to finalizing constitution
  16. ↑ a b c d New Egyptian Constitution - More basic rights and more religion , FAZ online, December 23, 2012 (accessed on March 26, 2013)
  17. ↑ Egyptians give themselves an Islamic constitution , Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 25, 2012 (accessed on January 19, 2013)
  18. ↑ Islamists vote for Sharia law as the legal basis in Egypt , Zeit online, November 29, 2012 (accessed on March 26, 2013)
  19. ^ Egypt: No compromise in sight - After the constitutional referendum, Islamists and opposition forces continue to face each other irreconcilably , German Society for Foreign Policy eV, December 19, 2012 (accessed on March 26, 2013)
  20. ↑ Bammarny, Bawar, The New Egyptian Constitution of 2012, Arab Law Quarterly (Brill), Volume 27 (2013) Issue 3.
  21. ↑ dpa / smb: Revolution: Egypt's constitution is revised before new elections. In: welt.de . July 9, 2013, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  22. ↑ More military, less religion: Egypt votes. Retrieved January 14, 2014 .
  23. ↑ The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 - A Classification , missio-hilft.de , accessed on January 28, 2019.
  24. ↑ http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Pektiven/d/4145936/98-1-prozent-stimmen-mit-ja.html