By Marwan Arafa ‘28

Egypt, formally the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a nation home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It is geographically situated at a strategic location, lying between Africa and Asia, bordering the Red and the Mediterranean seas to the east and north,  Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast. Being located at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe, Egypt has been conquered, governed, and visited by many empires and peoples over millennia. This, no doubt, has added upon and changed the judicial system and structure of the country. This article will explore Egypt’s history as well as how that history impacted its governmental and judicial structure today.

The nation is home to nearly 110 million people, the vast majority being Egyptians, as well as a minority of Siwa, Nubians, and Bedouins. Nearly 90% of the population is Muslim while the remainder are almost all adherents of the Coptic Orthodox faith. The official language is Arabic, with The Egyptian Dialect being the most spoken Arabic dialect in Egypt, usually spoken in Lower Egypt and in urban centers, while Sa’idi Arabic is usually spoken in the upper Nile and in rural areas.

History

Egypt, being one of the oldest human civilizations, is full of history. It is said that Ancient Egypt began when the legendary King Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt (the south and the north, respectively) to form a single entity encompassing the land based around the Nile River. Following the unification of Egypt under Menes in the 4th millennium BCE, Egypt saw nearly 30 dynasties of various kings and queens rule the land. It saw various wars by many people. This included the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, which ushered in the last Pharaonic dynasty under the descendants of his general, Ptolemy.

Ancient Egypt came to an end with the Roman Empire’s conquest in 30 BCE, turning the formerly independent nation a province of the Roman Empire for centuries afterwards, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, ushering in an era that made modern Egypt what it is today.

The Rashidun caliphate, led by Omar ibn Al-Khattab, conquered Egypt in 639 AD by armies commanded by ‘Amr ibn Al-’As. Over the course of the millennium, Egypt was considered a capital of culture, trade, learning, religion, and more. Multiple empires ruled the state, most of them Islamic, including the Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, and Ottoman Caliphates and the Mamluk Sultanate. From roughly the mid 8th to 13th centuries, the Islamic Golden age occurred, introducing new inventions, concepts, and ways of thought that would influence global conversations for centuries to come. These include the invention of modern medicine, some of the earliest human flights, Algebra, and the invention of modern optics with the very first camera, the camera obscura, which was created by Ibn Al-Haytham in Cairo. 

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt, holding on to it for centuries, and keeping the previous Mamluk rulers as oligarchs of the territory. Under the Ottomans, the economy and culture declined due to governmental policies. For example, over nearly three centuries of Ottoman rule, only one significant historian was produced, while the Mamluks, who championed the arts and literature, had many more as the leaders of the state saw the value in such pursuits. 

Following centuries of conquests, the entire Islamic world was taken by surprise when Napoleon successfully invaded and briefly conquered Egypt in 1798. At that point, Egypt was considered a capital of culture, religion, and intellect in the Arab and Islamic worlds. The conquest was the first successful European conquest of Egypt since the Roman Empire’s, nearly two millennia earlier. The French conquest brought major introductions to Egypt and the rest of Islamic world, much of it coming from Egyptians who studied European-style law in France, which they then attempted to implement in their home country, as well as developments such as a renewed interest in Ancient Egypt, which brought about the study of Egyptology. However, as stated in “The Social Impact of French Occupation on Egypt” by Wan Kama Mujani and Napisah Karimah Ismail, “It is undeniable that the Fench {sic, French} had introduced some new ideas, however, real reform for the Egyptian public, particularly in knowledge and technological progress only materialised in the time of Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha, three years after the French withdrew. He had worked diligently to advance Egypt as the country had lagged behind in knowledge and technological progress in comparison to Western achievements.”

Muhammad Ali was a Muslim Ottoman subject, likely of Albanian or Macedonian origin, who arrived in Egypt as a member of the Ottoman army during the French occupation in 1798. Following the French Empire’s withdrawal in 1801 and the return of Egypt to Ottoman hands, he managed to elevate himself to the governmental rank of wali in 1805, becoming the viceroy of Egypt in just a few years.

Swiftly, he eliminated the Mamluks, the previous rulers of Egypt before the Ottomans, and the oligarchy that continued to rule under them. Furthermore, as Encyclopedia Britannica puts it, he “expropriated the old landholding classes, turned the religious class into pensioners of the government, restricted the activities of the native merchant and artisan groups, neutralized the Bedouins, and crushed all movements of rebellion among the peasants. The task of rebuilding Egypt along modern lines now lay before him.” As governor of Egypt, he essentially turned the province into a semi-independent territory under the Ottomans, setting the stones for an independent Egypt. Under him and his descendants, Egypt saw major economic and systematic development, including the construction of the Suez canal, managed and operated by France and the United Kingdom. 

Following the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, Egypt became a protectorate of the United Kingdom for numerous reasons, most of all to protect the Suez Canal, a centerpoint of international trade. This era also saw the introduction of a quasi-parliamentary system in 1883. However, as World War 1 started, already high tensions which included numerous revolts and riots saw Egypt declare its independence from the United Kingdom. Again in 1952, Egypt saw a major change with the Free Officers movement coup which deposed the king and ushered in the modern republic era of Egypt. Egypt has a civil law system, where everything is based on codified laws, unlike the United States, for example. The constitution, like many other countries, is regarded as the highest law of the land.

The Executive

The president serves as both the head of state and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The president must be, according to New York University Law school, “... an Egyptian national, born to Egyptian parents and neither his/her parents nor his/her spouse may have held another citizenship. He/She must enjoy both political and civil rights. Moreover, his/her age should not be less than 40 calendar years on the day of registration as a candidate.” They serve for a term of six years and may only be re-elected one time.

The president chooses a new prime minister who then submits their program to the house of representatives. If a confidence of majority isn’t granted, “the President shall appoint a Prime Minister who is nominated by the party or the coalition that holds the majority or the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives.” The process significantly differs from that in the United States, which features less parliamentary-like governmental processes. Furthermore, the European and French influence on government can further be observed in this scenario. The president also makes their cabinet, which aids in making policies, their implementation, and the creation of the general budget, among other responsibilities. The president also acts as the head of state, representing Egypt on the regional and international stage. They are allowed to serve for a maximum of three terms, each for six years under the current Constitution and its amendments. 

The Legislative

Consisting of the House of Representatives and the House of the Senate, the legislative branch of the Egyptian government enacts laws and approves policies of the state, as well as “approve the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget of the State, supervise the work of the government, ratify international conventions, and to vote to impeach the President of the Republic (Article 159) or replace the government and its Prime Minister in a vote of no-confidence (Article 131).” The legislature meets for one nine-month period each year. The president has the ability to call a parliamentary session. 

Egypt’s legislature consists of a multitude of parties with varying degrees of ideologies, including the incumbent president El-Sisi’s Mostaqbal Watan party (Nation’s Future party) and its partners in the coalition of the National List for the Sake of Egypt, mainly Egyptian nationalist and populist parties, which hold a majority in the legislature. Furthermore, as of 2020, women hold 162 seats in the 596-member House of Representatives, a significant increase from 89 only five years earlier. Furthermore, Egypt has 27.2% women in its legislature, which meets the world average of 27.2%. Egypt has a total of 896 members across the Senate and the House of Representatives, with the House of Representatives having 596 members and the Senate having 300, 200 of whom are elected and the remainder are appointed by the president.

Legal System

Egyptian law is built on two pillars: Islamic law (Shariah) and Napoleonic code, a long lasting effect from the Napoleonic invasion centuries earlier. For example, Egyptian Civil Code of 1948, “the ECC”, which is almost entirely based on French Civil Code and Shariah law influences, is the root of Egyptian private law including contracts, family, and property law. It essentially outlines the nation’s torts system, which is made up of material harm, which is any economic or financial loss from an injury, and moral harm, which includes the likes of trauma, emotional suffering, and other unquantifiable and intangible losses. Courts decide cases on a case-by-case basis, and judges have a lot of power in how to decide as the civil code is intentionally broad, which makes interpretations of law very flexible. Furthermore, Egypt has recently made numerous changes to its constitution, namely owing to the 2011 revolution as well as the 2013 revolution, both of which left great societal impacts on the nation.

The Egyptian court system consists of two main parts: General courts, also known as Common courts, and Administrative courts, also known as State courts. Egypt’s legal system has a different set of courts exclusively to deal with transactions that involve the state, aptly titled the Council of State, the administrative courts. They are courts that deal with contracts and orders from the government. Since there is no written set of laws to govern such cases, judges have a lot of leeway with how they make their decisions.

As Egypt has a civil system of law, its legal system is based on codified laws. It does not have a set framework of legally binding precedents, however previous legal decisions do have some say in future cases. 

Administrative courts are headed by the Supreme Administrative Court, which acts in a similar manner to the Court of Cassation in ordinary courts, but in a different regard. Furthermore, in any Egyptian governmental agency, a member of the State Council is present to give legal advice and opinions on administrative law matters. 

The Judicial

The judicial branch of the Egyptian government consists of numerous types of courts such as military courts, security courts, penal courts, and other specialized courts.The various tiers of the Egyptian Court system is far more complex than in the United States, as there are numerous specialized courts which complicates things. Furthermore, as discussed in depth of its historical background, the judicial system is mainly based on French legal concepts. The legal system of the country’s ordinary General courts consists of various tiers, starting with Courts of First Instance, then Courts of Appeal, and then the Court of Cassation. 

The Courts of First Instance, which are courts that consider lawsuits filed if they are under their jurisdiction. Rulings are subject to appeal. They are the first level of any civil litigation and any criminal cases that involve misdemeanors. Judges presiding are generally younger and more inexperienced compared to the other courts of the system. These courts struggle with heavy caseloads. 

The Courts of Appeal generally review the decisions of the Courts of First Instance, and do so within a set time frame, as any appeals past the time frame are rejected. In all of Egypt, there are only seven appellate courts that take on the cases of the lower courts. Judgements made by the Courts of Appeal can only be further appealed to the Court of Cassation.

The Court of Cassation is the highest court in the ordinary courts system of Egypt. It reviews most appeals that it receives, unlike the Supreme Court of the United States which is much more selective. However, akin to the Supreme Court, it also only reviews law and its application rather than the facts of the case. It was established in 1931 in order to function as a binding court for the Egyptian legal system, in many ways similar to how the Supreme Court operates. Furthermore, the court publishes a yearly summary of its rulings, which acts as a guide and reference for the legal system as a whole.

The Supreme Constitutional Court operates as an independent body, separate from all other legal courts. It only deals with identifying whether or not laws and regulations are constitutional. Furthermore, it settles disputes between judicial bodies, and interprets laws passed by the legislature as well as decrees by the president in the case of disagreements of implementation. 

Conclusion

Egypt is a nation older than most others, and its history impacts its current government and judicial systems. Sitting in a strategic and important area of the world, Egypt’s importance cannot be overstated. 

Marwan Arafa is a sophomore majoring in political science.

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