Egyptâs Constitution in Question
In: Middle East Law and GovernanceSearch for other papers by Mara Revkin in
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In well-functioning democracies, constitutions are revered as the unwavering backbones of law and order and permanent reservoirs of fundamental rights. But if longevity is the defining test of a successful constitution, then Egyptâs new charter â ratified by popular referendum in December 2012 â is already in danger of failing. This essay, which draws on conversations with Egyptian judges and lawyers in 2013, will argue that the illegitimacy and ambiguity of Egyptâs constitution has undermined rule of law by insufficiently clarifying the balance of powers between rival institutions that are now engaged in fierce competition over the uncertain contours. The effect of the resulting power struggle has been a sharp deterioration of public confidence in judicial institutions which are increasingly perceived as partisan actors prioritizing their own interests over the public good.
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âAssociated Press, âEgypt Constitution Passes With 63.8 Percent,â Yahoo! News, December 25, 2012, http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-constitution-passes-63-8-percent-181120349--finance.html. 63.8 percent of voters approved the constitution out of the 32.9 percent of total eligible voters who participated in the constitutional referendum.
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âUN News Service, âUN Official Voices Alarm at Egypt Violence, Cites âMajorâ Problems with Draft Constitution,â UN News Centre, December 7, 2012, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43706&Cr=egypt#.UTzIkNFVQ5g.
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âOmar Halawa, âThe Courtâs Last Breath,â The Daily News Egypt, December 31, 2012, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/court-s-last-breath.
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âChibli Mallat, âReading the Draft Constitution of Egypt: Setbacks in Substance, Process, and Legitimacy,â Ahram Online, December 2, 2012, http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/59606/Opinion/Reading-the-Draft-Constitution-of-Egypt-Setbacks -i.aspx.
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âSee Oliver Hart and John Moore, âIncomplete Contracts and Renegotiation,â Econometrica 56, no. 4 (1988): 755-785.
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âAlec Stone Sweet, âConstitutional Courts and Parliamentary Democracy (Special Issue on Delegation),â West European Politics 25 (2002): 77-100, 78.
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âAly el-Malky, âShura Council Accuses SCC of Undermining Lawmakers,â Egypt Independent, February 19, 2013, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/shura-council-accuses-scc-undermining-lawmakers.
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âTamir Moustafa, âLaw and Resistance in Authoritarian States: The Judicialization of Politics in Egyptâ in Rule by Law: The Politics of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes, ed. Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 139.
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âPatrick Kingsley, âEgyptian Police Go On Strike,â The Guardian, March 10, 2013, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/10/egypt-police-strike.
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âNicolas Pelham, âIn Sinai: The Uprising of the Bedouin,â New York Review of Books, December 6, 2012, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/dec/06/sinai-uprising-bedouin/?pagination=false.
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âMara Revkin, âIslamic Justice in the Sinai,â Foreign Policy, January 11, 2013, http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/11/islamic_justice_in_the_sinai.
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âHans Kelsen, The Pure Theory of Law (California: University of California Press, 1967), 209.
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Egyptâs Constitution in Question
In: Middle East Law and GovernanceSearch for other papers by Mara Revkin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
In well-functioning democracies, constitutions are revered as the unwavering backbones of law and order and permanent reservoirs of fundamental rights. But if longevity is the defining test of a successful constitution, then Egyptâs new charter â ratified by popular referendum in December 2012 â is already in danger of failing. This essay, which draws on conversations with Egyptian judges and lawyers in 2013, will argue that the illegitimacy and ambiguity of Egyptâs constitution has undermined rule of law by insufficiently clarifying the balance of powers between rival institutions that are now engaged in fierce competition over the uncertain contours. The effect of the resulting power struggle has been a sharp deterioration of public confidence in judicial institutions which are increasingly perceived as partisan actors prioritizing their own interests over the public good.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 633 | 101 | 12 |
| Full Text Views | 114 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 63 | 0 | 0 |
