The
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 precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of Egypt consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. Egypt has its own
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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
which took effect on 18 January 2014. The
Constitution of Egypt
The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the fundamental law of Egypt.
The Egyptian Constitution of 2014 was passed in a referendum in January 2014. The constitution took effect after the results were announced on 18 January 2014. A ...
is the fundamental law of the country.
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 Mediter ...
s legal codes and court operations are based primarily on
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
models, and has been the inspiration for the civil code for numerous other Middle Eastern jurisdictions, including
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, pre-
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
kingdoms of
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and the commercial code of
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
.
Egyptian Civil Code
The Egyptian Civil Code is the primary source of
civil law for
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 Mediter ...
, governing "the areas of personal rights, contracts, obligations, and torts."
. The first version of Egyptian Civil Code was written in 1949 containing 1149 articles.
There are "two levels" of litigation (two trials of fact)" with another appellate level in civil litigation in Egypt.
*"Small claims cases are tried before a single judge, with a right to ''de novo'' appeal to a panel of three judges from the Court of First Instance."
*"Larger claims originate with a panel of three Court of First Instance judges, with a right of
de novo appeal to a three-judge panel of Court of Appeals judges. Appeals from the Court of Appeals are limited to legal issues, and are conducted before the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court of Egypt's common court system." according to EgyptJustice.com.
Unlike Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries, the Egyptian legal system has no office of
hisbah
''Hisbah'' ( ar, حسبة, ḥisba, "accountability")Sami Zubaida (2005), Law and Power in the Islamic World, , pages 58-60 is an Islamic doctrine referring to upholding "community morals", based on the Quranic injunction to " enjoin good and for ...
(
Islamic religious police
Islamic religious police (also sometimes known as morality police or sharia police) are official Islamic vice squad police agencies, often in Islamic countries, which enforce religious observance and public morality on behalf of national or regio ...
force), but it does allows for "
hisbah
''Hisbah'' ( ar, حسبة, ḥisba, "accountability")Sami Zubaida (2005), Law and Power in the Islamic World, , pages 58-60 is an Islamic doctrine referring to upholding "community morals", based on the Quranic injunction to " enjoin good and for ...
"
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
s.
Judiciary of Egypt
The judicial system (or judicial branch) of
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 Mediter ...
is an independent
branch
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
of the Egyptian government which includes both secular and religious courts. The Judiciary of
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 Mediter ...
consists of administrative and non-administrative courts, a Supreme Constitutional Court, penal courts, civil and commercial courts, personal status and family courts, national security courts, labour courts, military courts, and other specialized courts or circuits.
The criminal code listed three main categories of crime: contraventions (minor offenses), misdemeanors (offenses punishable by imprisonment or fines), and felonies (offenses punishable by penal servitude or death).
See also
*
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) first adopted in Cairo, Egypt, on 5 August 1990, (Conference of Foreign Ministers, 9–14 Muharram 141 ...
*
Application of sharia law by country
Since the early Islamic states of the eighth and ninth centuries, Sharia always existed alongside other normative systems.
Historically, sharia was interpreted by independent jurists (muftis), based on Islamic scriptural sources and various legal ...
*
Egyptian Judges' Club
The Egyptian Judges' Club (''Nadi al Quda'') was founded in Cairo, Egypt in 1939, primarily as a social club for judges. It is not formally registered as a professional association, as that would place it under the jurisdiction of Egypt's Ministry ...
*
Egyptian nationality law
Egyptian nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Egypt, as amended; the Egyptian Nationality Law, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligibl ...
*
Egyptian NGO Law
Egyptian NGO Law 84 (2002) establishes two main types of NGOs (non-governmental organizations): ''Community Development Associations'' and ''Civic Foundations''.
Community Development Associations (CDAs)
Requirements
The Founders of CDAs may be e ...
Bibliography
*Bechor, Guy. ''The Sanhuri Code, and the Emergence of Modern Arab Civil Law (1932 To 1949),'' (
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
), .
*Hoyle, Mark, ''The Mixed Courts of Egypt'', (
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
), .
References
External links
Hans W. Baade, ''Transplants of Laws and of Lawyers'' University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
colloquia paper
Mohamed Mattar, ''Islamic Law, Common Law, and Civil Law: The Place of Islamic Law in the Legal Family''Anne E. Mayer, ''Modern Law: Varieties in Legal Systems in Middle Eastern Countries''
{{Egypt topics