Constitution of the Kingdom of Egypt from 1953
The constitution of the Kingdom of Egypt from 1953 was the provisional constitution of Egypt from 1953 to 1956. The constitution is considered to be the transition from the constitutional Egyptian- Sudanese monarchy of the dynasty of Muhammad Ali, ruling since 1805, to the Republic of Egypt . It was enacted on February 10, 1953 by the military regime of the Free Officers Movement, which had ruled since the 1952 revolution and was chaired by Muhammad Nagib and Gamal Abdel Nasser .
The 1953 constitution was the eleventh and final constitution under the rule of the Muhammad Ali dynasty. It was formally valid in the British-Egyptian condominium Sudan , but did not anchor Egyptian claims to the area.
prehistory
On July 23, 1952, the Egyptian-Sudanese King Faruq was overthrown in a bloodless military coup. As part of its revolutionary program, the newly come to power began with the rebuilding of the Egyptian state from a pluralistic constitutional-parliamentary monarchy to a one-party military dictatorship . On July 26, 1952, Faruq had to abdicate in favor of his underage son Fu'ad II , officials and followers of the old regime were dismissed or arrested and in August 1952 all political parties and monarchist associations were forcibly dissolved. Many of the laws , ordinances and decrees passed by the military regime after the coup were constitutional . For example, the military government could issue decrees with the force of law and was formally responsible only to the Regency Council, which was the monarch's representative, under the leadership of Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim . On December 10, 1952, the old constitution of 1923 was repealed and a three-year transition period was proclaimed. On February 10, 1953, after several months of preparation, the new transitional constitution was passed and promulgated.
construction
The constitution was officially called the Constitutional Declaration. Its aim was to establish the constitutional basis during the transition period and to organize the rights and duties of all citizens. Then there was the form of government.
Many constitutional principles have not been implemented or are being disregarded.
monarch
The constitution defined Egypt as a parliamentary monarchy with a strong government. Many of the monarch's rights were transferred to the newly created office of the leader of the revolution as chairman of the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council or Prime Minister . The monarch's command of the armed forces was withdrawn. In addition, the Prime Minister was appointed by the Revolutionary Command Council. The sovereignty was also no longer exercised by the monarch, but by the leader of the revolution (Article 8).
government
Articles 9 and 10 delegated legislative and executive power to the Royal Egyptian Government (now officially called the Council of Ministers) . This should deal with the general politics of the state and related issues in joint conferences with the Revolutionary Command Council (Art. 11).
houses of Parliament
A parliament to represent the people was not provided for in the constitution.
Judiciary
The judiciary was defined as independent and had no other authority than the law. Their jurisdiction was no longer in the name of the king, but in the name of the nation (Art. 7). However, the command council had the right to veto and pardon all judgments (Art. 8)
Status of religion
The constitution affirmed the freedom of belief and conscience . In contrast to the constitution of 1923, Islam was officially no longer the state religion . But he was given a special position. New laws were therefore only passed in compliance with Sharia law.
Detachment
On June 18, 1953, the republic was proclaimed in Egypt. All references to the monarchy were deleted from the constitution and the powers of the monarch were transferred to the new office of President of Egypt . On January 16, 1956, after a referendum, Gamal Abdel Nasser drafted a new constitution.
See also
literature
- Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen, Klaus Landfried (eds.): The election of parliaments and other state organs / Volume II: Africa: Political organization and representation in Africa De Gruyter, 1978, ISBN 978-3-11-004518-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Barbara Stępniewska Holzer, Jerzy Holzer: Egypt: The turn of the century. Warsaw 2006, ISBN 83-89899-58-2 , pp. 112-116.