Justice Support Foundation

Amendment of the Supreme Constitutional Court Law:Between the Necessity of National Security and Compliance with International Law

14 September, 2021

Conclusions:

To sum up, there are some notes regarding the amendments applied to the law of the supreme Constitutional Court in the form approved and published in the Official Gazette:

The amendment added a new jurisdiction regarding monitoring the constitutionality of decisions of international organizations and bodies, as well as rulings of foreign courts with specific procedures starts with a request to the prime minister.
Decisions of international organizations and bodies, as well as rulings of foreign courts, whether international courts or foreign (local) courts, are not legal legislation, and therefore no Egyptian judicial control, whether from the Supreme Constitutional court or other bodies, is applied over them. In this regard, court rulings particularly are subject to private international law. As for the decisions of international organizations and bodies, they are subject to the international conventions considered, according to the Egyptian judiciary, an act of sovereignty over which judicial control recedes.
Claiming that the amendment came in implementation of the provision of the second paragraph of Article no. 192 of the Egyptian Constitution is inadmissible here since the jurisdictions of the court that may be added must be related to internal law and national legislation alone. And to say that this control is implemented on foreign rulings or international treaties is a violation to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, both of which Egypt has joined, which necessitates an international obligation not to violate their provisions.

To view the full paper, please open the link

Amendment of the Supreme.pdf

Constitutional Amendments Impact on the Penal Code and its Complementary Laws

11 July, 2021

Conclusion:

Most of the amendments that affected the Constitution, the Penal Code and the laws complementing it (specific criminal legislations) came without an urgent social necessity, and without taking into account the foundations and philosophy of comparative criminal laws. This does not discredit the argument that it came in exceptional circumstances, nor in a dynamic reality in which the good and the bad ripple, threatening state structure. Even in those exceptional cases, there are constitutional rules and provisions that must be adhered to and implemented. There are rights and freedoms that should not be violated nor imposed with restrictions that afflict them, emptying them of their content and undermining its essence. Most of the changes were as follows:

Inaccurate wording, permeated with ambiguity and verbal flexibility that expands to include cases that the constitution prohibits criminalizing. This also increases the potentials of selective implementation in a way that violates the equal legal protection of those addressed with its provisions.
The amendments brought some articles of laws that the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional, re-drafted and merged them again into the legislation in force at the present time.
The amendments also brought the provisions of exceptional laws and planted them in the heart of ordinary ones; the thing that curtail the rights and freedoms of those who are addressed by these provisions and ought to obey rules and orders.
Most of the amendments aimed at imposing the executive authority’s control over every opinion (said or written) and action made by opinion makers through words or formulations that expand to include all permissible things that can be interpreted broadly and flexibly to be subject to criminalization cycle despite the clarity of a legal rule that the exceptions interpretationmay should not be expanded. Rather, its interpretation must be narrowed whenever it is in the interest of the accused.

To view the full paper, please open the link :

Constitutional Amendments Impact on the Penal Code.pdf

Legal guarantees for the accused in the stage of Investigation

23 May, 2021

Conclusions and Recommendations:

In conclusion, the existing Egyptian constitution is full of many legal guarantees that guarantee the freedom, safety and right of the accused during the preliminary investigation stage, including the new text on the right of the accused to remain silent, thus being the first Egyptian legislation stipulating this right. In addition, it included special guarantees regarding the sanctity of homes and the inviolability of searching them except with a reasoned judicial permission, prohibiting searching the accused, except in cases of flagrancy and urgency, if strong and sufficient evidence to the accusation against him/her exists. In case that the evidence is insufficient, the judicial police officer may not search the accused. The constitution also approved a set of constitutional guarantees for the accused in case of arrest, interrogation and remand, the guarantees that was regulated by the Criminal Procedure Law in the previously explained way. However, the expansion of the exceptional powers granted to the Public Prosecution during its investigations into some crimes- including terrorism crimes- has detracted from the legal remand guarantees of those accused of these crimes. It became the authority of the Public Prosecution to detain in remand those accused with it for a period that exceeds five months so that the one-time does not exceed fifteen days, and then the matter is brought after that before the competent court. The Criminal Procedure Law also detracted from the guarantees of the right to defense during the investigation phase, as previously Explained.

To view the full paper, please open the link :

Legal guarantees for the accused in the stage of Investigation.pdf

A legal paper Cluster Acts: Five Years on the Anti-Terrorism Law

25 October, 2020

The Egyptian government issued the Anti-Terrorism Law 94/2015, claiming the law is meant to deal with the exceptional circumstances Egypt had undergone at that period. The law sought to identify terrorist crimes and regulate the procedures of detaining and trying suspects. It also contained a number of provisions on infringing on basic rights stipulated in the Egyptian constitution and international charters.

Five years after the law was issued, the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession has published a legal paper titled “Cluster Acts: Five Years on the Anti-Terrorism Law”.

The paper focuses on the repercussions of the regulations stipulated by the law in light of the international standards related to legislation issued in exceptional circumstances. The paper tackles the direct effect of the law on constraining basic rights and freedoms, and the impact the law has left on other laws. The Anti-Terrorism Law founded a new legislative philosophy, which resulted in issuing legal articles bearing the same provisions in other legislation. The paper closes with conclusions of the most significant points and a number of recommendations necessary to halt the repercussions of applying the Anti-Terrorism Law.

To view the full paper, please open the link

A legal paper Clustered Legislations Five Years on the Anti-Terrorism Law.pdf

Conference on the Role of the constitution in the Transition to Democracy in Egypt

5 February, 2013

The International Commission of Jurists (Geneva-based) in cooperation with the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) and Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC) organize a Conference on “the Role of the constitution in the Transition to Democracy in Egypt”, during the period from 6^th to 7^th February 2012 in Shepheard Hotel, Cairo.

The Conference discusses several issues related to the role of constitutions in securing steady transitions to democracy; the constitution-making process; the establishment and the functioning of a Constituent Assembly; and the process of adopting the constitution and the importance of respecting the principles of inclusivity, participation, consensus and transparency. The Conference tackles the separation and balance of powers; civilian oversight over the army and security services; legislative oversight of the executive; the role, functioning and independence of the judiciary; and limitations on the scope and role of military tribunals and special courts, including guarantees of fair trials.

The conference is co- chaired by a number of experts in the field of Law and Legislation on both national and international levels, including Mr. Wilder Tayler, Secretary General- ICJ, Justice Azhar Cachalia, Judge – the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, Raji Sourani, ICJ Commissioner and Said Benarbia, Senior Legal Adviser, ICJ.

The Conference includes a number of participants, named Justice Ahmed Mekki, Vice-presidentof the Court of Cassation, Justice Hisham Geneina, President, Cairo Appeals Court,

Judge Essam Farag, Vice President of the Court of Cassation, Prof. Mohammed Nour Farahat, Law Professor at Zagazig University, Dr. Gaber Nasser, Professor of Constitutional Law in Cairo University, Prof. Amr El Shalakani, Law Professor at the American University in Cairo, Mr. Sameh Ashour, President of the Bar Association and the Head of the Arab Lawyers Union, Mr. Ahmed Saif il Islam, Lawyer and founder of HMLC, Mr. Mahmoud Kandil, Lawyer and Human rights activist, Mr. Abdellah Khalil, Lawyer and Human rights activist, Mr. Essam Al Islamboulli, Lawyer in the supreme Constitutional Court, Ms. Mozn Hassan, the Executive Director of Nazra, Mr. Nasser Amin, Director of ACIJLP, Mr. Ahmed Ragheb, Director of HMLC, Mr. Hossam Haddad, Human rights activist in HMLC and Mr. Mina Khalil, Human rights activist in HMLC.

Conference on the Egyptian independence of the judiciary between Constitutional Protection and the Judicial Authority Law

7 March, 2012

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) organizes a conference on “the Egyptian independence of the judiciary between Constitutional Protection and the Judicial Authority Law”. The conference will be held on Saturday, 17^th March 2012.

The conference will be held shortly before the People’s Assembly’s discussion to the Judicial Authority Law and preparation for the constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The conference also comes after what was raised recently in Egypt such as the events that indicated the extent to which the breach and violation of the independence of the Egyptian judiciary and improper interference in the judiciary work.

Many judges will participate and co-chaired the sessions of the conference including Ahmed Mekki, Assem Abdel Jabbar, Zaghloul Al-balshy, Hisham Geneina, Ashraf Zahran, Hisham Rauf, Vice-President of the Court of Cassation, Mahmoud Abu Shusha, Mahmoud Mekki and Issam Tawfiq Faraj. Moreover, many human rights activists, judges, law professors, lawyers and media figures will participate in the discussion.

The Conference discusses many topics including the manifestations of interference and violation of the independence of the Egyptian judiciary, visions and perceptions in order to eliminate violation of the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of slow proceedings, failure to implement judicial judgments, interfering in many matters relevant to purely judicial issues starting from the appointment of prosecutors and the Attorney General and the hegemony over the judicial affairs such as transfer, assignment, promotion and secondment. In addition to, discussing the mechanisms of the new Constitution and Judicial Authority Law, more precisely ensuring the independence of the judiciary and the judicial authority, the requirements for amending many legislation governing the judiciary in line with international standards, integration and dissemination of human rights culture in educational and formative system of judges and the involvement of civil society and political parties in strengthening the independence of the judiciary. The conference also aims at discussing the mechanisms to immunize judges physically and cognitively against any interventions or violations of any of their independence and give them the right to form trade unions and professional associations as a way for protecting them, defending their rights and improving their professional performance.