The status and process of emergency conditions in Egypt's constitutional law

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Ph.D. in Public Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Egypt can be considered one of the countries that has spent more than 80% of the last hundred years under emergency conditions, in such a way that the exceptional situation has become a normal condition. Although the political system of this country is governed democratically, the design of the institution of emergency conditions in the Egyptian constitution and the ease of using this tool have led the executive branch to authoritarianism, in such a way that the authority of the President, by referring to Article 3 of the Law of Emergency Conditions, prevents other powers from functioning and grants him wide legislative and judicial powers. The impartiality of the judicial system has been challenged due to the selection of military court judges from high-ranking officers and their authority to enter into matters related to emergency conditions, while public courts are limited to civil lawsuits. This research tries to answer the question of how, according to Egypt's constitutional law, the administration of the country is conducted during emergency situations. The hypothesis of the research is that in Egypt's constitutional law system, in the state of emergency, the administration of the country's affairs is entrusted to the President and the government is governed by a form of authoritarianism. This research has been compiled using a descriptive-analytical method based on library sources and reliable websites.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Ali Khattar Shatawi (2008). Encyclopedia of Administrative Judiciary, Vol. 1, Jordan: Dar Al-Thaqafa (In Arabic).
  2. Al-Jarf, Ta'ima (1962). The Principle of Legitimacy and Judicial Oversight of Public Administration Actions. Government Cases Administration Journal, Vol. 6, (4), 1-88 (In Arabic).
  3. Al-Shammari, Mazen & Abdul-Hussein, Hussein, (2013), The Position of Egyptian Students on the Cairo Fire of 1952. Mujbi Al-Ustad, (205), 493-512 (In Arabic).
  4. Al-Sherbiny, Ibrahim (1964). Emergency Guards; A Comprehensive Study of the Guards Imposed Based on Martial Law and Emergency Law Since World War II Until Now, Egypt: Dar Al-Maaref (In Arabic).
  5. Auf, Yussef(2018), The state of emergency in Egypt: An exception or rule?, The ability to study at: atlanticcouncil.org/, February 2, 2018.
  6. Badir, Nawar & Khalil Asim (2018). State of Emergency from the Encyclopedia of Comparative Arab Constitutional Law. Palestine: Publishing Danishgah Birzeit (In Arabic).
  7. El Deen, Sherif Mohy(2017), Egypt’s Unexceptional State of Emergency, Policy Alternatives, 10 August 2017.
  8. Elliesie, Hatem (2011), Rule of Law in Egypt, Rule of Law, Working Paper Series Nr. 5, Berlin (ISSN 2192‐6905).
  9. emergency powers, Oxford University Press and New York University School of Law 2004, 210 I.CON, Vol. 2, Number 2, 2004.
  10. Fahmi, Mustafa Abu Zaid (1957). The Egyptian Constitution, Alexandria: Manshaat Al-Maaref (In Arabic).
  11. Fallah Nezhad Fateme (2022). Judicial Independence and Impartiality is a Manifestation of Fair Trial in Order to Protect the Rights of Citizens; the Legal System of the Islamic Republic of Iran Compared to the People's Republic of China. Journal of Comparative Law Review, 13 (2), 737-775. DOI: 10.22059/JCL.2022.344424.634378 (In Persian).
  12. John, Pasquino, Pasquale,(2004), The law of the exception: A typology of emergency powers , International Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 2, Issue 2, April 2004, Pages 210–239
  13. Gurban-Nia, Nasser (2016). Suspension of the implementation of human rights in emergency situations. Islamic Law Journal, (12), 37-62 (In Persian).
  14. BROWN, NATHAN, (2017), Egypt Is in a State of Emergency. Here’s What That Means for its Government, WASHINGTON POST, APRIL 13, 2017.
  15. Kaabi, Abbas; Alam El Hadi, Seyyed Hojat Elah; Fatahi Zafarqandi, Ali (2012). Analysis and Review of the Constitution of Egypt. Public Law Review Quarterly (1), 77-98 (In Persian).
  16. Lombardi, Clark and Brown Nathan J. (2012), Islam in Egypt's New Constitution, Foreign Policy journal, University of Washington School of Law Research Paper, No. 2013-19.
  17. Mashhadi, Ali; Chaina, Ali; Qarlaqi, Siddiqa (2019). exceptional conditions and exceptions to the rule of law (research case of constitutional law experts' approach to emergency situations), New Administrative Law Research Quarterly, second year, (4), 39-56. DOI:22034/MRAL.2020.132067.1051 (In Persian).
  18. Michelle A. Liguori, (2012), A New Emergency Law Model for Egypt, Human Rights Brief 19, no. 3, pp. 9-16.
  19. Mohebi, Daoud & Karmi, Hamed (2016). The Nature of Response Patterns to Emergency Situations with Emphasis on the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Afaq Security Quarterly, Year 8, (32), 67-98 (In Persian).
  20. Mohebi, Daoud; Zare, Mehdi; Guderzi, Ahmed (2022). the position of Islam in the legislative process of Egypt after the 2011 changes. Journal of Public Law Studies of Tehran University, Vol. 52, Number 1, pp. 553-575.  https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2019.278591.1959 (In Persian).
  21. Mousavi, Seyyed Hojat Elah (2021). examining the relationship between executive and legislative powers in the 2014 Egyptian Constitution. Law Studies Journal, (15), 80-100 (In Persian).
  22. Nazzal Awad, Al-Anzi, (2017), Limits of Administrative Control Powers in Exceptional Circumstances, Master's Thesis, Jordan: Al al-Bayt University (In Arabic).
  23. ÖZBUDUN, Ergun, TURHAN, Mehmet(1995), Emergency powers, Science and technique of democracy No. 12, Strasbourg, pp. 2-32.
  24. Parvin, Khairale & Paknejad, Amin Elah (2021). legal investigation of the entry of armed forces in emergency situations caused by the spread of Corona. Human Rights and Citizenship Journal, (12), 181-204. DOI: 30497/hcr.2022.76491 (In Persian).
  25. Reza, Sadiq(2007), Endless Emergency: The Case of Egypt, New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal 10, No. 4, 532-553.
  26. Royuran, Hossein (2012). The Constitution is the focus of political confrontation in Egypt. Pasdar Islam magazine, No. 385 (In Persian).
  27. Sheeran, Scott, (2013), Reconceptualizing States of Emergency under International Human Rights Law: Theory, Legal Doctrine, and Politics, 34 MICH. J. INT'L L, pp. 491-557.
  28. Shujayan, Khadijah (2016). the components of the principle of rule of law in the light of the definition of the United Nations. Journal of Public Law Studies, (3), 71-90 (In Persian).
  29. Yee, Vivian(2012), Egypt’s Leader Ends State of Emergency, Says It’s No Longer Needed, The ability to study at: The new York times at 25/oct/2021.
  30. Zwitter, Andrej (2015),  Middle East Law and Governance, Online Publication Date: 31 Aug 2015, access on www.brill.com.
Comparative Law Review
Volume 16, Issue 2 - Serial Number 32
Autumn & Winter 2025
December 2025
Pages 505-524

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics