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EGYPT
Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah (The Arab Republic of Egypt)
I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil Law)
The Arab Republic of Egypt is a parliamentary republic with a strong head of state.
The official language is Arabic. Egypt is divided into twenty-six Governorates (muhafazat,
singular: muhafazah), with sub-units of cities and villages. Governors and mayors are
appointed by the central government, while local councils are directly elected by the people.
Egyptian law has its roots in the Islamic legal tradition. While Sharia (the uncodified
body of Islamic law and practices based on the Qur’an and Sunnah) as interpreted through
the teachings of the Hanafi school of thought has recently reemerged as a force in modern
Egyptian legal development, the country remains a secular Arab nation. Egypt has elements
of both a common and civil law system.
Egypt’s Constitution is contained in an act promulgated on September 11, 1971, with
amendments ratified in 1980. It establishes Egypt as a secular Arab state, and bans
religiously-based political parties. The Constitution also establishes a parliamentary system,
but grants the head of state wide powers. The President is head of state and is directly
elected to a 6 year term by the people, following the approval of his candidacy by the
National Assembly. The President may appoint one or more vice presidents, a prime
minister, vice prime ministers, other cabinet ministers, and may and dismiss these officers at
any time.
General legislative power is vested in the two houses of Parliament: the 454-member
People's National Assembly (Majlis al-Sha'b) and the 264-member Shura (consultative)
Council (Majlis al-Shura). 444 members of the People’s Assembly are popularly elected,
although the Constitution requires that at least half of the Assembly’s membership be
“workers and peasants,” and the President has the right to appoint ten members. Members
serve five year terms, although the President may dissolve Parliament at any time. The Shura
Council’s role is consultative. 176 of its members are directly elected by the people, and
eighty-eight are appointed by the president. Members serve six-year terms. Although
legislation is the primary source of law, the writings of the Muslim Hanafi school are
applicable to matters of family law, and non-Muslim citizens may fall under Christian or
Jewish canon law if applicable.
The President and the members of the People’s Assembly may propose legislation,
although legislation proposed by Assembly members must be referred first to a special
committee to assess its suitability for consideration by the Assembly. Acceptable draft laws
are referred to a committee of the Assembly for a report. Once legislation is ratified by the
People’s Assembly, it is submitted to the president, who must approve or veto the legislation
within thirty days. A presidential veto can be overruled by a two-thirds majority of the
People’s Assembly. If the President neither approves nor vetoes the legislation within thirty
days, the legislation becomes law.
The Constitution also establishes the Judiciary, and specifies that it shall be
independent and subject to no authority but the law. The organization of the State Security
Courts, their competencies, and the conditions that must be fulfilled by judges are prescribed
by law. A separate administrative court system, the Council of State (Maglis id-Dowla),
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