A committee formed in February 2011 by the Egyptian military following suspension of the constitution during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The committee's purpose is to review the constitution of Egypt, to be ratified by a referendum.
Aims and composition
editThe eight-member committee tasked with amending the constitution is composed of legal experts of various ideologies, including secular liberal scholars, three judges from the current Supreme Constitutional Court, and a Christian.[1]
Members
edit- Tarek El-Bishry was appointed as the head of the committee.[2]
- Subhi Saleh, lawyer, former member of parliament, and member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Maher Sami Yussef, counselor to the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
- Hassan El Badrawi, vice president of the Constitutional Court.
- Hatem Bagatou, president of the consultative commission of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
- Mohamed Hassaneim Abdel Al, former dean of the law school at Cairo University.
- Mahmoud Atef El Bana, constitutional law professor at Cairo University.
- Mohamed Bahey Abou Younis, of the College of Law at Alexandria University.[3][4]
Amendment proposals
editA constitutional amendment proposal announced on 26 February 2011[5] proposed to amend Articles 76, 77, 88, 93, 139, 148 and 189 and to remove Article 179.[6] Changes to Article 76 would make it easier to become a presidential candidate. Either 30,000 signatures from at least 15 governorates (provinces), 30 members of a chamber of the legislature, or nomination by a party holding at least a seat in the legislature.[6] The proposed changes to Article 77 would limit the President to two terms of four years in office.[6] Changes to Articles 88 and 93 would restore judicial supervision of elections and allow the Constitutional Court of Egypt to control the validity of membership of parliament.[6] The proposed amendment to Article 139 would oblige the president to appoint a vice-president.[6] It was also proposed that a commission drafts a new constitution following the parliamentary election.[7]
The issue of limiting presidential powers was postponed until after the elections as part of the new constitution drafting process.[8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Lee Keath; Hamza Hendawi (Feb 15, 2011). "Muslim Brotherhood to form political party, promises not to field candidate for president". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved Feb 16, 2011.
- ^ Ex-judge to head Egypt reform panel. Al Jazeera English
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D.; Fahim, Kareem (15 February 2011). "Egypt Convenes a Panel to Revise Its Constitution". The New York Times.
- ^ البشري رئيسا للجنة تعديل الدستور, Al-Wafd, February 15, 2011.
- ^ Awad, Marwa; Perry, Tom (February 26, 2011), "After 30 years of Mubarak, Egypt to limit terms", Reuters, retrieved February 26, 2011
- ^ a b c d e Saleh, Yasmine (2011-02-27). "Factbox: Proposed changes to Egypt's constitution". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ^ "Main".
- ^ "Egypt's army passes draft constitutional amendments". BBC News. 26 February 2011.
External links
edit- The devil is now in the details for Egypt's democracy, Rabab Fayad, The Daily Star, 14 March 2011
- Understanding Egypt's revolution, Tarik al-Bishri, Al Jazeera English, 18 March 2011, "The chair of the committee tasked with rewriting the Egyptian constitution reflects on the birth of a new regime."