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ECT Starts Meetings on Amendments of 1971
Constitution
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17/1/2006
The Egyptian Constitutional Tribune (ECT) members have agreed on amendments of 1971 Constitution especially articles related to governance, the President's authorities, and the relationship between executive, legislative, and judiciary powers. Such amendments should guarantee maintenance of supervisory and legislative role of legislative power, unification and homogeneity of judiciary procedures, and removal of all forms of exceptional judiciary. These amendments should be followed by drafting a new constitution consistent with current Egyptian life and latest developments.
The members have also agreed on assigning a separate chapter divided into two parts for public rights and liberties. The first part should include a package of economic and social rights stated in International Pledge for Economic and Social Rights (IPESR) such as the rights to work, health and medial care, housing, social welfare. The second part should include a package of civil and political rights stated in international covenants related to human rights.
The members stressed that the 50% of labourers and peasants should be eliminated since such assignment implies a flagrant violation of equal citizenship principle in Article 40 of the Egyptian Constitution, which states that all citizens are equal before Law and that they have equal rights and responsibilities.
The members concluded that all national efforts should be coordinated regarding constitutional reform. As a step in this direction, The National Front for Change (NFC)-which formed a committee of constitutional law experts headed by Professor Yehia al-Gamal to draft an alternative constitution-will be invited together with university teaching staff, State Council members, Syndicates' representatives, and other partisan and societal forces in order participate in the upcoming meeting to be held mid-February 2006.
In their upcoming meeting, ECT members discuss all constitutional reform contributions such as 1954 Draft Constitution-drafted by a group of constitutional law experts and politicians upon a request from the then Revolution Command Council (RCC) but never saw light-1923 Constitution, and a draft prepared by the Democracy Defence Committee (DDC) for the amendment of 1972 Constitution in order to cut down the President's powers-all towards an appropriate constitutional form for a modern state to be presented to the President, the People's Assembly, and the Shourah Council.
Participants of the above-mentioned meeting included:
- Ibrahim Darwish, Constitutional Law Professor at Cairo University;
- Ahmed Meky, Deputy of Court of Cassation;
- Ahmed Thabet, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University;
- Bahey al-Dein Hassan, Head of Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies;
- George Ishaq, General Coordinator of The Egyptian Movement for Change;
- Hafez Abou Seada, Secretary General of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights;
- Hussein Abdel Raqik, Rapporteur of Defence of Democracy Committee and Secretary General of al-Tagamoah Party;
- Essam al-Erian, former MP;
- Farouk al-Ashry, Political Office Member at al-Nasry Party;
- Faridah al-Naqash, Adab wa Naqd (Literature and Criticism) Editor-in-Chief;
- Mahmoud al-Khoudairy, Head of Judges' Club in Alexandria.
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