Skip to main content

Problems Ahead For Egypt Constitution Debate

Egypt's Committee of 50 continues to draft the country's new constitution, but not without coming up against several contentious issues. 
Amr Moussa (L), chairman of the committee to amend the country's constitution speaks at a news conference, next to media spokesperson Mohamed Salmawy, at the Shura Council in Cairo September 22, 2013. Moussa has been selected to chair the committee entrusted with amending the constitution pushed through by deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.        REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany  (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13UNS

It’s been around three weeks since Egypt’s Committee of 50 (C50), the country’s new constitutional assembly, began its work on amending the 2012 constitution, which has been suspended since the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi on July 3. The committee has largely been acting as a full constituent assembly, attempting to circumvent its essentially advisory role as is set by the current constitutional declaration.

The declaration gave the actual final power to amend the constitution to a committee of 10 jurists and constitutional law experts — all nominated by the educational institutions and legal bodies they represent — while the C50 was basically tasked with being a society-representing entity that provides opinion.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.