The Constitution of 1923 was a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

from 1923–1952.Harvey Henry Smith.
Area Handbook for the United Arab Republic (Egypt).
' U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970. p. 192. It was replaced by the Constitution of 1930 for a 5-year period from October 1930 before being restored in December 1935. It adopted the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

representative system based on separation of and cooperation among authorities. The

Parliament of Egypt The Parliament of Egypt is the bicameral legislature of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). The Parliament is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. Under t ...

was a

bicameral system Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

made up of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

History

After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Egyptian Revolution broke out in 1919 calling for liberty, independence and democracy. This revolution resulted in the 28 February 1922 declaration which recognized Egypt as an independent state (with some reservations) and ended Egypt's status as a British protectorate. Muhammed Naguib on 1952

Based on its new status, Egypt needed a constitution. The first prime minister of newly independent Egypt, Abdel Khalek Sarwat Pasha formed, on 30 April 1922, a 30-member committee, the Committee on the Constitution, to draft a constitution. Its members were thinkers, men of the law, scientists, religious officials, moderate politicians, landowners, merchants and financiers. The

Wafd The Wafd Party (; ar, حزب الوفد, ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist liberal political party in Egypt. It was said to be Egypt's most popular and influential political party for a period from the end of World War I through the 1930s ...

, the most popular political movement in the country refused to participate in the commission. King Fouad I was not happy with an upcoming constitution that would make the people the source of power.الرافعي، عبد الرحمن''، في اعقاب الثورة المصرية الجزء الأول'' ، الطبعة الرابعة، دار المعارف، القاهرة ١٩٨٧ ISBN 977-02-2049-2 p.97 He did not promulgate the draft constitution prepared by the committee and proposed to him by Sarwat. After the resignation of Sarwat on 30 November 1922, it took two cabinets and heavy discussions on the constitution, until the King promulgated it on 19 April 1923.

Characteristics

The

representative system that was adopted ensured that the relationship between the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

was based on the principle of control and balance of powers. It made the Cabinet accountable to the parliament, which had the right to move no confidence vote, while giving the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

the right to dissolve

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. However, it gave the parliament the right to convene in case it was not called to sit according to the scheduled date. As for the Chamber of Deputies, the constitution stated that all its members were to be elected for a 5-year term. On the other hand, three fifths of the Senate members were elected, and the rest were appointed. The constitution also adopted the principle of equal competences for the two branches, with some exceptions. The number of members was increased from time to time. The Chamber of Deputies, for example, had 214 members from 1924–1930, then it increased to 235. The number decreased under the 1930 Constitution which continued in effect from 1931–1934 to become 150. It increased once again under the 1923 Constitution to become 232 for the period from 1936–1938. Then the number of members became 264 from 1938- 1949. Then it was increased to 319 in 1950 and continued as such up until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The

established by the Constitution of 1923 was an advanced step along the course of democracy and representation in Egypt. However, in practice it was mixed with numerous negative aspects. Political life from 1923–1952 varied between tides of limited popular democracy and ebbs due to intervention by occupation forces and the palace, which led to the dissolution of parliament ten times. Moreover, a new constitution was issued in 1930 which lasted for five years. This was a setback to democratic life until the Constitution of 1923 was restored in 1935. Thus, constitutional conditions deteriorated due to both internal and external reasons. This deterioration was reflected in a state of political and governmental instability to the extent that Egypt had 40 cabinets in the period 1923–1952.

References/Notes

External links

The Egyptian Parliament
{{Authority control

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

Constitution of 1923 Constitution of 1923 Defunct constitutions Egyptian Revolution of 1919 1923 documents Constitution of 1923