Egypt’s Third Constitution in Three Years: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Much highly politicized commentary has been made about Egypt’s 2014 constitution. Its proponents argue that the text is the best that Egypt has ever seen; detractors tend also to exaggerate its flaws. The text itself certainly includes a number of important improvements in comparison to past Egyptian constitutions. It contains clear la nguage on the issue of discrimination and violence against women; it grants significant rights and affords protection to children and to the disabled; the list of socio-economic rights has been lengthened and is more detailed than it has ever been. Efforts have been made to close some of the loopholes in the system of government that had been created in the 2012 constitution, and the useless Shura Council was eliminated, therefore simplifying the legislative process. Finally, more secular-minded Egyptians will be comforted that many of the references to religion that had been included in 2012 were eliminated. Most importantly, the infamous article 219¹ from the 2012 constitution was removed, allowing a large number of nervous Egyptians to breathe a collective sigh of relief.