Presidential System
After 2011, people of Egypt voted in a referendum to change the constitution, the president isnow limited to two four-year terms, and election are closely supervised by justice. The president is required to appoint a deputy, and a commission will draft a new constitution following the parliamentary election. Candidates must provide 30,000 signatures from at least 15 provinces, or 30 members of a chamber of the legislature, or nomination by a party holding at least one seat in the legislature.[1]
Following the convening of the newly elected People’s Assembly and Maglis al-Shura in March 2012, a committee was to draft a new constitution to replace the pre-revolutionary one, followed by presidential elections. However, the Egyptian presidential election, 2012 occurred without a new constitution. The military council, which took power in early 2011, promised a fair and civilian vote. Practically, the first round of the election took place on 23 May and 24 May 2012.[2] It was followed by a run-off on 16 June and 17 June[3] which Mohamed Morsi won. He assumed office 30 June 2012. However, On 3 July 2013, following the military coup, the constitution of Egypt was suspended and Morsi was ousted from the presidency and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected in the 2014 presidential election.[4]
The legislative System
People’s Assembly
The People’s Assembly was founded in 1971 as a result of the adoption of the old Constitution. It is considered to be the lower house of the two, though it has a greater number of deputies, 508 deputies to be precise. 498 are directly elected by the People, while the remaining ten are appointed by the President. Farmers and workers make up half of the assembly, as the Constitution requires that there be many seats open for them, specifically, one for each two- seat constituency. For the parliamentary elections of 2012, two thirds of the seats were elected by the party-list proportional system, while the other third was elected by means of individual candidacy. Declaration 2 leaves the determination of the number of members to the law, provided they are not less than 350 members, half of which are farmers and workers. The President may appoint up to 10 members in the People’s Assembly. According to the former Constitution and Declaration 2, the Assembly sits for a five years term. However, it is worth mentioning that the Constitutional Court has recently rendered the People’s Assembly unconstitutional and has ordered the dissolution thereof.[5]
The Consultative Council (Maglis El-Shura)
The Arabic word ‘shura' means consultation; in English it is roughly translated as "The Consultative Council." Other than being a Consultative Council, it is also the Upper House of Egyptian Parliament. The former Constitution provided for a minimum of 132 members as will be determined by law, which, as per Law No. 120 of 2011, was set to 270 members. Two-thirds of the Council’s members are directly elected by the people, while the other third is appointed by the President of Republic, and hence may be replaced at his discretion. Declaration 2 maintained the same minimum composition of the Shura Council., . Two thirds of the elected members are elected through list system and the other third through individual elections system. Half of the elected members of the Shura Council, too, have to be farmers and workers. The Shura's legislative power is fairly limited in comparison to the People’s Assembly, and usually in debates on certain matters, the People’s Assembly has the upper hand and the prevailing view. [5]
The Judicial Power
Court System
As the third independent authority of the State, the Egyptian Judiciary is comprised of secular and religious courts, administrative and non-administrative courts, a Supreme Constitutional Court, penal courts, civil and commercial courts, personal status and family courts, national security courts, labour courts, military courts, as well as other specialized courts or circuits.[5]
The Egyptian Court system is composed of a number of tiers: the Courts of First Instance, Court of Appeal, and the Court of Cassation are at the apex of the judiciary. The classical dichotomy of public and private law has resulted in the establishment of the Council of State (Conseil d'Etat), which consists of administrative courts vested with the power to decide over administrative disputes pertaining to administrative contracts and administrative decrees issued by government officials and ministries. The Supreme Constitutional Court was established in 1970 replacing the Supreme Court established in 1960 and has exclusive jurisdiction to decide questions regarding the constitutionality of laws and regulations, as well as negative and positive conflict of jurisdiction.
Generally, the Egyptian judicial system is based on French legal concepts and methods. Judges are familiar with civil law systems’ concepts, and despite the huge case backlog and time-consuming proceedings, the principles of due process and judicial review are inherently cherished and respected. [5]
The Supreme Constitutional Court
The Supreme Constitutional Court is an independent body in the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is currently located in the Cairo suburb of Maadi.
The Court is undeniably the highest judicial power in Egypt. By virtue Article (25) of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s Law No.48 of the Year 1979, this Court is empowered to:
Members Of The Cabinet As Of 2016:
Prime Minister: Sherif Ismail
Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi
Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ashraf Shihi
Minister of Interior Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry
Minister of Finance Hani Qadri Demian
Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy
Minister of Culture Helmy Namnam
Ministry of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Magdy al-Agaty
Minister of Justice Ahmed al-Zend
Minister of TransportationSaad el Geyoushi
Minister of Electricity and EnergyMohamed Shaker
Minister of TourismHisham Zazou
Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation: Essam Fayed
Minister of Communications and Information Technology: Yasser el Qady
Minister of Petroleum: Tareq el Molla
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation: Hossam Moghazy
Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development: Mostafa Madbouli
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade: Khaled Hanafy
Minister of Manpower: Gamal Sorour
Minister of Immigration and Expatriates Affairs: Nabila Makram Ebeid
Minister of Religious Endowment (Awqaf): Mukhtar Gomaa
Minister of Health and Population: Ahmed Rady
Minister of Civil AviationMohammed: Hassan Kamal
Minister of Social Solidarity: Ghada Wali
Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform: Ashraf El-Araby
Minister of Industry, Trade and Small Industries: Tareq Qabil
Minister of Investment: Ashraf Salman
Minister of Technical Training and Education: El Helali el Sherbini
Minister of State for Youth and Sports: Khaled Abdel Aziz
Minister of State for Military Production: Mohammed el Assar
Minister of State for Local Development: Ahmed Zaki Badr
Minister of State of Antiquities: Mamdouh Eldamaty
[1] "Commission announces proposed changes to Egyptian Constitution". Egypt Independent. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[2] "Egyptians vote in landmark presidential election". BBC. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[3] "Egypt runoff presidential election kicks off sullenly". Los Angeles Times. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[4] "El-Sisi sworn in as Egypt president". Ahram Online. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
[5] NYU School of Law: An Overview of the Egyptian Legal System and Legal Research By Dr. Mohamed S. E. Abdel Wahab
After 2011, people of Egypt voted in a referendum to change the constitution, the president isnow limited to two four-year terms, and election are closely supervised by justice. The president is required to appoint a deputy, and a commission will draft a new constitution following the parliamentary election. Candidates must provide 30,000 signatures from at least 15 provinces, or 30 members of a chamber of the legislature, or nomination by a party holding at least one seat in the legislature.[1]
Following the convening of the newly elected People’s Assembly and Maglis al-Shura in March 2012, a committee was to draft a new constitution to replace the pre-revolutionary one, followed by presidential elections. However, the Egyptian presidential election, 2012 occurred without a new constitution. The military council, which took power in early 2011, promised a fair and civilian vote. Practically, the first round of the election took place on 23 May and 24 May 2012.[2] It was followed by a run-off on 16 June and 17 June[3] which Mohamed Morsi won. He assumed office 30 June 2012. However, On 3 July 2013, following the military coup, the constitution of Egypt was suspended and Morsi was ousted from the presidency and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected in the 2014 presidential election.[4]
The legislative System
People’s Assembly
The People’s Assembly was founded in 1971 as a result of the adoption of the old Constitution. It is considered to be the lower house of the two, though it has a greater number of deputies, 508 deputies to be precise. 498 are directly elected by the People, while the remaining ten are appointed by the President. Farmers and workers make up half of the assembly, as the Constitution requires that there be many seats open for them, specifically, one for each two- seat constituency. For the parliamentary elections of 2012, two thirds of the seats were elected by the party-list proportional system, while the other third was elected by means of individual candidacy. Declaration 2 leaves the determination of the number of members to the law, provided they are not less than 350 members, half of which are farmers and workers. The President may appoint up to 10 members in the People’s Assembly. According to the former Constitution and Declaration 2, the Assembly sits for a five years term. However, it is worth mentioning that the Constitutional Court has recently rendered the People’s Assembly unconstitutional and has ordered the dissolution thereof.[5]
The Consultative Council (Maglis El-Shura)
The Arabic word ‘shura' means consultation; in English it is roughly translated as "The Consultative Council." Other than being a Consultative Council, it is also the Upper House of Egyptian Parliament. The former Constitution provided for a minimum of 132 members as will be determined by law, which, as per Law No. 120 of 2011, was set to 270 members. Two-thirds of the Council’s members are directly elected by the people, while the other third is appointed by the President of Republic, and hence may be replaced at his discretion. Declaration 2 maintained the same minimum composition of the Shura Council., . Two thirds of the elected members are elected through list system and the other third through individual elections system. Half of the elected members of the Shura Council, too, have to be farmers and workers. The Shura's legislative power is fairly limited in comparison to the People’s Assembly, and usually in debates on certain matters, the People’s Assembly has the upper hand and the prevailing view. [5]
The Judicial Power
Court System
As the third independent authority of the State, the Egyptian Judiciary is comprised of secular and religious courts, administrative and non-administrative courts, a Supreme Constitutional Court, penal courts, civil and commercial courts, personal status and family courts, national security courts, labour courts, military courts, as well as other specialized courts or circuits.[5]
The Egyptian Court system is composed of a number of tiers: the Courts of First Instance, Court of Appeal, and the Court of Cassation are at the apex of the judiciary. The classical dichotomy of public and private law has resulted in the establishment of the Council of State (Conseil d'Etat), which consists of administrative courts vested with the power to decide over administrative disputes pertaining to administrative contracts and administrative decrees issued by government officials and ministries. The Supreme Constitutional Court was established in 1970 replacing the Supreme Court established in 1960 and has exclusive jurisdiction to decide questions regarding the constitutionality of laws and regulations, as well as negative and positive conflict of jurisdiction.
Generally, the Egyptian judicial system is based on French legal concepts and methods. Judges are familiar with civil law systems’ concepts, and despite the huge case backlog and time-consuming proceedings, the principles of due process and judicial review are inherently cherished and respected. [5]
The Supreme Constitutional Court
The Supreme Constitutional Court is an independent body in the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is currently located in the Cairo suburb of Maadi.
The Court is undeniably the highest judicial power in Egypt. By virtue Article (25) of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s Law No.48 of the Year 1979, this Court is empowered to:
- Determine the constitutionality of laws and regulations;
- Decide on jurisdiction disputes between judicial bodies or authorities of judicial competence;
- Decide on the disputes that might take place as a result of enforcing two final contradictory rulings issued by two different judicial entities; and
- Interpret the laws issued by the Legislative Authority and the decrees issued by the Head of the State in case of any divergence with respect to their implementation. [5]
Members Of The Cabinet As Of 2016:
Prime Minister: Sherif Ismail
Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi
Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ashraf Shihi
Minister of Interior Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry
Minister of Finance Hani Qadri Demian
Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy
Minister of Culture Helmy Namnam
Ministry of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Magdy al-Agaty
Minister of Justice Ahmed al-Zend
Minister of TransportationSaad el Geyoushi
Minister of Electricity and EnergyMohamed Shaker
Minister of TourismHisham Zazou
Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation: Essam Fayed
Minister of Communications and Information Technology: Yasser el Qady
Minister of Petroleum: Tareq el Molla
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation: Hossam Moghazy
Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development: Mostafa Madbouli
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade: Khaled Hanafy
Minister of Manpower: Gamal Sorour
Minister of Immigration and Expatriates Affairs: Nabila Makram Ebeid
Minister of Religious Endowment (Awqaf): Mukhtar Gomaa
Minister of Health and Population: Ahmed Rady
Minister of Civil AviationMohammed: Hassan Kamal
Minister of Social Solidarity: Ghada Wali
Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform: Ashraf El-Araby
Minister of Industry, Trade and Small Industries: Tareq Qabil
Minister of Investment: Ashraf Salman
Minister of Technical Training and Education: El Helali el Sherbini
Minister of State for Youth and Sports: Khaled Abdel Aziz
Minister of State for Military Production: Mohammed el Assar
Minister of State for Local Development: Ahmed Zaki Badr
Minister of State of Antiquities: Mamdouh Eldamaty
[1] "Commission announces proposed changes to Egyptian Constitution". Egypt Independent. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[2] "Egyptians vote in landmark presidential election". BBC. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[3] "Egypt runoff presidential election kicks off sullenly". Los Angeles Times. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
[4] "El-Sisi sworn in as Egypt president". Ahram Online. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
[5] NYU School of Law: An Overview of the Egyptian Legal System and Legal Research By Dr. Mohamed S. E. Abdel Wahab
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