This is the Constitution of Egypt that abided prior to 14-15 January 2014.
As Amended By:
The 1st Amendment
The 2nd Amendment
The 3rd Amendment
We, the people of Egypt, who have been toiling on this glorious land since the dawn of history and civilization, we the people working in Egypt’s villages, fields, cities, factories, centers of education and industry in any field of work which contributes to the creation of life on its soil or plays a part in the honor of defending this land
We, the people who believe in its spiritual and immortal heritage and who are confident in our profound faith and cherish the honor of man and of humanity at large,
We, the people who in addition to preserving the legacy of history, bear the responsibility of great present and future objectives whose seeds are embedded in the long and arduous struggle, with which the banners of liberty, socialism and unity have been hoisted along the great march of the Arab Nation,
We, the Egyptian people, in the name of God and with His assistance pledge to indefinitely and unconditionally exert every effort to realize:-
Peace to our worldBeing determined that peace can only be based on justice and that political and social progress of all peoples can only be realized through the freedom and independent will of these peoples, and that any civilization is not worthy of its name unless it is free from exploitation whatever its form.
UnityThe hope of our Arab Nation being certain that Arab Unity is a call of history and future and an inevitable destiny which can only materialize through an Arab Nation capable of warding off any threat whatever may be the source or the pretexts justifying it.
The Constant Development Of Life In Our NationBeing convinced that the true challenge confronting nations is the realization of progress and that such progress does not occur automatically or through slogans alone, but that the driving force behind it is the release of all potentials of creativity and originality in our people, who have asserted at all times their contribution to civilization and humanity through work alone.
Our people have passed through successive experiences, meantime offering rich experiences on both the national and international levels, by which they have been guided. These experiences finally took shape in the basic documentations of the July, 23rd Revolution led by the alliance of the working forces of our struggling people . This people have been able, through deep awareness and refined sensibility, to retain the genuine core of this revolution and to continuously rectify its path and to realize through it full integration between science and faith, political and social freedom, national independence and affiliation on the one hand and the worldwide struggle of humanity for political economic, cultural and intellectual freedom and the fight against all forces and remnants of regression domination and exploitation on the other hand.
Freedom For The Humanity Of The Egyptian ManHaving realized that man’s humanity and dignity are the torches that guide and direct the course of the enormous development of mankind towards its supreme ideals.
The dignity of every individual is natural reflection of the dignity of his nation, for each individual is a cornerstone in the edifice of the homeland . This homeland derives its strength and prestige from the value of each individual, his activity and dignity .
The sovereignty of law is not only a guarantee for the freedom of the individual but is also the sole basis for the legality of authority.
The alliance of the popular working forces is not a means for social conflict towards historical development, it is , in this modern age, with its climate and ways , a safety valve protecting the unity of the working powers of the nation and eliminating contradictions within these forces through democratic interaction .
We the working masses of the people of Egypt - out of determination, confidence and faith in all our national and international responsibilities, and in acknowledgment of God’s right and His messages, and in recognition of the right of our nation as well as of the principle and responsibility of mankind, and in the name of God and with His assistance - declare on the Eleventh of September 1971 that we accept and grant ourselves this Constitution, asserting our firm determination to defend and protect it, assuring our respect for it.
The Arab Republic of Egypt is a democratic state based on citizenship.
The Egyptian people are part of the Arab Nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity.
Islam is the religion of the State and Arabic its official language.
Islamic law (Sharia) is the principal source of legislation.
Sovereignty is for the people alone; they are the source of authority.
The people shall exercise and protect this sovereignty, and safeguard national unity in the manner specified in the Constitution.
The national economy is based on the development of economic activity, social justice, theguarantee of the different forms of property and the preservation of workers’ rights.
The political system of the Arab Republic of Egypt is a multiparty one, within the framework of the basic elements and principles of the Egyptian society as stipulated in the Constitution.
Political parties are regulated by the law.
The citizens have the right to establish political parties according to the law. It is prohibited, however, to exercise any political activity or to found any political party based on religious considerations or on discrimination on grounds of gender or race.
The Egyptian nationality is defined by the law.
Social solidarity is the basis of the society.
The State shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens.
The family is the basis of the society founded on religion, morality and patriotism.
The State strives to preserve the genuine character of the Egyptian family—with the values and traditions it embodies—while affirming and developing its character in relations within the Egyptian society.
The State shall guarantee the protection of motherhood and childhood, take care of children and youth and provide suitable conditions for the development of their talents.
The State shall guarantee the proper coordination between the duties of woman towards the family and her work in the society, considering her equal status with man in the fields of political, social, cultural and economic life without violation of the rules of Islamic jurisprudence.
The society shall be committed to safeguarding and protecting morals, promoting the genuine Egyptian traditions and abiding by the high standards of religious education, moral and national values, historical heritage of the people, scientific facts, socialist conduct and public morality within the limits of the law.
The State is committed to abiding by these principles and promoting them.
Work is right, a duty and an honor ensured by the State.Workers who excel in their field of work shall receive the appreciation of the State and thesociety.
No work shall be imposed on the citizens, except by virtue of the law, for the performance ofa public service and in return for a fair remuneration.
All citizens have the right to public offices, which are assigned to those in trust in the serviceof the people.
The State guarantees the protection of public officers in the performance of their duties insafeguarding the interests of the people.
They may not be dismissed on other than disciplinary grounds except in the cases specified bythe law.
The war veterans, those injured in war or because of it, and the wives and children of thosekilled shall have priority in work opportunities according to the law.
The State shall guarantee cultural, social and health services, and work to ensure them for thevillages in particular in an easy and regular manner in order to raise their standard.
The State shall guarantee social and health insurance services. All citizens have the right topensions in cases of incapacity, unemployment and old-age, in accordance with the law.
Education is a right guaranteed by the State.
It is compulsory at the primary stage, and the State shall strive to make it compulsory at theother stages.
The State shall supervise all branches of education and guarantee the independence ofuniversities and scientific research institutions, with a view to linking all of them to therequirements of society and production.
Religious education shall be a principal subject in the courses of general education.
Education in the State educational institutions shall be free of charge at the various stages.
Combating illiteracy shall be a national duty for which all the people’s energies shall bemobilized.
The institution of civil titles shall be prohibited.
The national economy shall be organized in accordance with a comprehensive developmentplan which ensures the growth of the national income, fair distribution, higher livingstandards, elimination of unemployment, the increase of job opportunities, the linking ofwages to productivity and the determination of minimum and maximum wages in a mannerwhich guarantees the reduction of disparities between incomes.
The State shall sponsor the national production and work for the realization of social andeconomic development.
Every citizen shall have a share in the national revenue to be defined by the law in accordancewith his work or his non-exploitative ownership.
The workers shall have a share in the management and profits of the projects. They arecommitted to the development of production and the implementation of the plan in theirproduction units, in accordance with the law. Protecting the means of production is a nationalduty.
Workers shall be represented on the boards of directors of the public sector units by at least50% of the number of members of these boards. The law shall guarantee for the small farmersand small craftsmen 80% of the membership on the boards of directors of the agricultural cooperativesand industrial cooperatives.
Beneficiaries shall participate in the management of the services projects of public interestand their supervision in accordance with the law.
The State shall look after the cooperatives in all their forms and encourage handicrafts with aview to developing production and raising income.The State shall endeavor to consolidate the agricultural cooperatives according to modernscientific bases.
Ownership shall be under the supervision of the people and the protection of the State.There are three kinds of ownership: public ownership, cooperative ownership and privateownership.
Public ownership is the ownership of the people as represented in the ownership of the Stateand the public legal persons.
Co-operative ownership is the ownership of the co-operative societies. The law guarantees itsprotection and self-management.
Private ownership shall be represented by the non-exploitative capital. The law organizes theperformance of its social function in the service of national economy within the framework of the development plan so that it may not be in conflict, in the ways of its use, with the generalwelfare of the people.
Public ownership shall have its sanctity, and its protection and consolidation is the duty ofevery citizen in accordance with the law.
Private ownership shall be safeguarded and may not be put under sequestration except in thecases specified in the law and with a judicial decision. It may not be expropriated except forthe general good and against a fair compensation in accordance with the law. The right ofinheritance is guaranteed in it.
Nationalization shall not be allowed except for considerations of public interest, in accordancewith a law and subject to compensation.
General sequestration of funds shall be prohibited.
Private sequestration shall not be allowed except with a judicial decision.
The law shall fix the maximum limit of land ownership with a view to protecting the farmerand the agricultural laborer from exploitation.
The tax system shall be based on social justice.
Saving is a national duty protected, encouraged and organized by the State.
All citizens are equal before the law.They have equal rights and duties without discrimination between them due to race, ethnicorigin, language, religion or creed.
Individual liberty is a natural right and shall not be touched. Except in cases of in flagrantedelicto no person may be arrested, inspected, detained or his freedom restricted or freedom ofmovement curtailed except by judicial warrant required for the purpose of an investigation orthe preservation of the security of the society.This warrant shall be issued by the competent judge or the Public Prosecutor in accordancewith the provisions of the law.The law shall determine the period of custody.
Any person arrested, detained or his freedom restricted shall be treated in a mannercompatible with the preservation of his dignity.
No physical or moral harm is to be inflicted upon him.
He may not be detained or imprisoned except in places defined by laws on the organization ofthe prisons system.
If a confession is proved to have been made by a person under any of the aforementionedforms of duress or coercion, it shall be considered invalid and futile.
No person may submit to a medical or scientific experiment without his free consent.
The home shall be inviolable.
It may not be entered or searched except by virtue of a judicial warrant prescribed by the law.
The law shall protect the inviolability of the private life of citizens.
Correspondence, wires, telephone calls and other means of communication shall be inviolableand secret and may not be seized or put under surveillance except by judicial warrant and fora limited period according to the provisions of the law.
The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites.
Freedom of opinion is guaranteed.
Every individual has the right to express his opinion and to disseminate it verbally or inwriting or by photography or by other means within the limits of the law.
Self-criticism and constructive criticism is the guarantee for the safety of the nation.
Freedom of the press, printing, publication and mass media shall be guaranteed.
Censorship of newspapers as well as their control, suspension or suppression byadministrative methods is prohibited.
In a state of emergency or in time of war a limited censorship may be imposed on thenewspapers, publications and mass media in matters related to public safety or purposes ofnational security in accordance with the law.
The State shall guarantee the freedom of scientific research and literary, artistic and culturalinnovation and provide the necessary means for its realization.
No citizen may be prohibited from residing in any place and no citizen may be forced toreside in a particular place, except in the cases defined by the law.
No citizen may be deported from the country or prevented from re-entering the nationalterritory.
Citizens shall have the right to permanent or temporary immigration.
The law shall regulate this right and the forms and conditions of immigration and exit fromthe country.
The right to political asylum shall be guaranteed by the State for every foreigner persecutedfor defending the peoples’ interests, human rights, peace or justice.
The extradition of political refugees is prohibited.
Citizens shall have the right to peaceable and unarmed private assembly, without the need forprior notice.
Security personnel may not attend these private meetings.
Public meetings, processions and assemblies are allowed within the limits of the law.
Citizens shall have the right to form associations as defined by the law.
The establishment of associations whose activities are detrimental to society or have aclandestine or military character is prohibited.
The establishment of syndicates and unions on a democratic basis is a right guaranteed bylaw; they shall be recognized as legal entities.
The law shall regulate the participation of syndicates and unions in carrying out the socialprograms and plans, raising the standard of efficiency among their members, andsafeguarding their funds.
They are responsible for questioning their members about their behavior in carrying out theiractivities in accordance with accepted moral standards, and for the defense of their rights andliberties of their members as defined in the law.
Any violation of individual liberty or of the inviolability of private life of citizens or on anyother rights or liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the law shall be considered acrime, whose criminal and civil prosecution is not subject to the statute of limitations.
The State shall grant a fair compensation to the victim of such violation.
The defense of the motherland is a sacred duty, and conscription is compulsory in accordancewith the law.
Safeguarding the environment is a national duty, and the law shall regulate the right to a goodenvironment and the measures necessary to safeguard it.
Protecting national unity and keeping State secrets is the duty of every citizen.
Payment of taxes and public duties is an obligation in accordance with the law.
Citizens shall have the right to vote and express their opinions in referendums in accordancewith the provisions of the law.
Their participation in public life is a national duty. The law shall regulate the right to stand forelection to the People’s Assembly, the Shura Council and the local councils in accordancewith the electoral system it specifies. The law may adopt a system which combines theindividual member system with the party list system on the basis of a ratio between the twosystems to be determined by the law.
It may also stipulate a minimum representation ofwomen in the afore-mentioned councils.
Every individual has the right to submit written petitions signed by himself to the publicauthorities.
Public authorities should not be petitioned in the name of groups, with the exception ofdisciplinary institutions and juridical persons.
The rule of law shall be the basis of the exercise of public power in the State.
The State shall be subject to the law.
The independence and immunity of the judiciary are two basic guarantees to safeguard rightsand liberties.
Penalties shall be personal.
There shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law.
No penalty shall be inflicted except by judicial sentence.
Penalty shall be inflicted only for acts committed subsequent to the promulgation of the lawprescribing them.
Any defendant is innocent until he is proved guilty before a legal court before which he isgranted the right to defend himself. Every person accused of a crime must be provided with counsel for his defense.
Access to the courts is an inalienable right, and every citizen is entitled to submit his case tothe competent judge.The State shall guarantee free access to the courts for the parties to a controversy and a speedydetermination of their claims.Any provision in the law stipulating the immunity of any act or administrative decision fromjudicial control is prohibited.
The right of defense either in person or by counsel is guaranteed.The Law shall grant needy citizens the means to resort to justice and defend their rights.
No criminal charges shall be brought except by indictment of a judicial authority in the casesdefined by the law.
Any person arrested or detained should be informed promptly of the reasons for his arrest ordetention.
He has the right to communicate, inform, and ask the help of anyone as prescribed in the law.He must be confronted, as soon as possible, with the charges brought against him.
Any person may lodge a complaint to the courts against any measure taken to restrict hisindividual freedom.
The law regulates the right of complaint in a manner which ensures that a decision is issuedwithin a fixed delay, or else release is imperative.
Sentences shall be passed and executed in the name of the people.
The non-execution of sentences or the obstruction of their execution by the competent civilservants is considered a crime punishable by law.
In this case those who have a vested interest in the execution of the sentence may bringcriminal charges before the competent court.
The Head of State is the President of the Republic.
He shall assert the sovereignty of the people, ensure respect for the Constitution and the ruleof law, safeguard national unity and social justice and keep the authorities within the limits oftheir respective powers in order to make sure that each performs its role in the interest of theNation.
If any danger threatens the national unity or the safety of the motherland or obstructs theconstitutional role of the State institutions, the President of the Republic shall take urgentmeasures to confront this danger after consulting the Prime Minister, the Speakers of thePeople’s Assembly and the Shura Council, address a message to the people and conduct areferendum on the measures taken within sixty days of their adoption. The People’s Assemblyand the Shura Council may not be dissolved during the exercise of these powers.
The person to be elected President of the Republic must be an Egyptian born to Egyptianparents and enjoy civil and political rights.His age must not be less than 40 Gregorian years.
The President shall be elected by direct, public, secret ballot. In order to be accepted as acandidate to the presidency, a person must be supported by at least 250 elected members ofthe People’s Assembly, the Shura Council and the elected regional assemblies who mustinclude at least 65 members of the People’s Assembly, 25 of the Shura Council and ten ofmembers of the regional assemblies in at least 14 regions.
The number of members of the People’s Assembly, the Shura Council and local popularcouncils at provincial level shall be raised in proportion to increases in number of any of thesecouncils. In all cases, support may not be given to more than one candidate.
Procedures related to the nomination process shall be regulated by the law. Political partieswhich have been established at least five years before the announcement of the candidacy andhave been operating without interruption during this period, and whose members haveobtained at least 3% of the elected seats in both the People’s Assembly and the Shura Councilor the equivalent of the combined total of these numbers in one of the two assemblies maynominate for President a member of their leadership council in accordance with their own by-laws, provided the candidate has been a member of the council for at least twelve consecutivemonths.
As an exception to the provisions of the aforementioned paragraph, the afore-mentionedpolitical parties whose members obtained at least one seat in either the People’s Assembly orthe Shura Council in the last election may nominate in any presidential elections to be heldwithin ten years of May 1, 2007 a member of their leadership council in accordance with theirby-laws, provided he has been a member of the council for at least twelve consecutivemonths.
Candidacies shall be submitted to an independent committee named Presidential ElectionsCommittee. The Committee shall be composed of the head of the Supreme ConstitutionalCourt as a chairman and the head of the Cairo Court of Appeal, the most senior deputy of thehead of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the most senior deputy of the head of the Court ofCassation, the most senior deputy of the State Council and five public figures, recognized fortheir impartiality. Three of the aforementioned public figures shall be selected by the People’sAssembly and the other two by the Shura Council upon a recommendation of the bureaus ofboth houses for a period of five years.
The law shall determine who will act on behalf of the chairman or any member of theCommittee, should they be unable to perform their functions for some reason.
This Committee shall have the following exclusive competences:
The Committee’s resolutions shall be adopted with a majority of at least seven members. Itsresolutions shall be final, self-executing and incontestable by any means or before anyauthority whatsoever. Its resolutions may not be challenged by way of interpretation or bygranting a stay of execution. The law regulating presidential elections shall determine othercompetences of the Committee.
The law shall also determine the rules governing the nomination of a candidate who is toreplace another candidate who has abandoned his candidacy for some other reason than hisassignment to public functions in the period from the opening of the candidate selectionprocess until the end of the presidential vote.
Voting shall be conducted in one single day. The Presidential Elections Committee shallestablish committees to manage the different stages of the voting and ballot-counting process. They will be supervised by general committees whose members are chosen by the PresidentialElections Committee from judicial bodies in order to monitor the whole process in accordancewith such rules and regulations as may be decided by the Committee.
A candidate who has obtained the absolute majority of validly cast votes shall be declaredelected. In the event that none of the candidates has obtained such a majority, a second roundof voting shall take place at the earliest after seven days between the two candidates who haveobtained the largest number of votes. Should a third candidate obtain a number of valid votesequal to the number of votes of the candidate who arrived in second place, he shall also takepart in the second round. In this case, the candidate who obtains the largest number of voteswill be declared the winner.
The presidential election shall take place even if only one candidate has presented a validapplication or if he is the only candidate remaining due to assignment of the other candidatesor due to the failure to field another candidate in lieu of the one who abandoned hiscandidacy.
In this case, the candidate who has obtained the absolute majority of the number of valid votesshall be declared winner. The law shall regulate the procedure which has to be followed in theevent the candidate fails to obtain this majority.
The President shall submit the draft law regulating the presidential election to the SupremeConstitutional Court following approval by the People’s Assembly and before promulgation,in order to determine compliance with the Constitution.
The Court shall deliver its ruling on this matter within fifteen days from the President’ssubmission. Should the court decide that one or more provisions of the draft law areunconstitutional; the President shall return it to the People’s Assembly in order to bring thelaw into conformity with the ruling. In all cases, the court’s ruling shall be binding on allparties and all state authorities. The law shall be published in the Official Gazette within threedays from the date of delivery.
The term of the Presidency is six Gregorian years starting from the date of the announcementof the result of the referendum.
The President of the Republic may be re-elected for other successive terms.
The selection process of a new President of the Republic shall start sixty days before theexpiration of the term of the President in office.
Should the election of the new President be announced before the end of the term of hispredecessor, his presidential term shall start on the second day following the end of the saidterm.
The new President shall be selected at least one week before the expiration of previouspresidential term.
Should this term expire without the selection of the new President being completed for anyreason whatsoever, the former President shall continue to exercise his functions until hissuccessor is elected.
Before assuming his office, the President shall take the following oath before the People’sAssembly.
“I swear by Almighty God to uphold the Republican system faithfully, to respect theConstitution and the law, to look after the interests of the people and to safeguard theindependence and territorial integrity of the motherland”.
The salary of the President of the Republic shall be fixed by law.
Any adjustment of the salary shall not become effective during the presidential term in whichthe adjustment decision is taken.
The President of the Republic may not receive any other salary or remuneration.
During his term the President of the Republic may not exercise any free profession orundertake any commercial, financial or industrial activity.
Nor may he acquire or lease any State property, sell to or exchange with the State anyproperty of his whatsoever.
If on account of any temporary obstacle the President of the Republic is unable to dischargehis functions, he shall delegate his powers to a Vice-President, or to the Prime Minister shouldthere be no Vice-President able to take over.
The acting President may not request the amendment of the Constitution, or dissolve thePeople’ Assembly or the Shura, or dismiss the Cabinet.
In case of resignation, the President shall address the letter of resignation to the People’sAssembly.
In case of the vacancy of the Presidential Office or the permanent disability of the Presidentof the Republic, the President of the People’s Assembly or, if at that time the People’sAssembly is dissolved, the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court shall take over the Presidency, on the condition that neither shall stand as a candidate for the Presidency, andabiding by the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 82.
The People’s Assembly shall then proclaim the vacancy of the office of President.
The President of the Republic shall be elected within a maximum period of sixty days fromthe day of the vacancy of the Presidential Office.
Any charge against the President of high treason or of committing a criminal act shall bebrought upon a proposal by at least one-third of the members of the People’s Assembly.No impeachment procedure shall be initiated except upon the approval of a majority of twothirdsof the Assembly members.
The President shall be suspended from the exercise of his duties as from the initiation of theimpeachment procedure.
The Vice-President or, should there be no Vice-President, the Prime Minister shalltemporarily assume the Presidency, while abiding by the provisions of the second paragraphof Article 82 until a ruling on the impeachment is issued.
The President of the Republic shall be tried by a special tribunal set up by law.
The law shall also organize the trial procedure and define the penalty.
If he is found guilty, the President shall be relieved of his post, without prejudice to otherpenalties.
The People’s Assembly shall exercise the legislative power and approve the general policy ofthe State, the general plan of economic and social development and the general budget of theState.
It shall exercise control over the work of the executive authority in the manner prescribed bythe Constitution.
The law shall determine the constituencies into which the national territory shall be divided;the number of elected members of the People’s Assembly must be at least 350, at least onehalfof which has to be workers and farmers elected by direct and secret public ballot.
The definition of the worker and the farmer shall be determined by law.
The President of the Republic may appoint a number of members not exceeding ten.
The conditions to be fulfilled by the members of the People’s Assembly shall be defined bylaw which shall set out the rules on the organization of the ballot. The ballot shall take placein one day. A Higher Committee which enjoys independence and impartiality shall supervisethe elections in the manner regulated by the law. The law shall set out the competencies of theCommittee and the procedure for its formation. Current and former members of judicialbodies shall be among its members. The Committee shall form the general committeessupervising the elections at constituency level, and the committees charged with themonitoring of the ballot operations and the counting of the votes. The general committeesshall be composed by members of judicial bodies, and the counting of the votes shall takeplace under their supervision in accordance with the rules and procedures defined by the law.
State and public sector employees may nominate themselves for membership in the People’sAssembly.
A member of the People’s Assembly shall devote himself exclusively to his functions as amember, except in cases specified by law.
His office or job shall be preserved for him in accordance with the provisions of the law.
The member of the People’s Assembly shall take the following oath before the Assemblybefore assuming upon his duties:
Members of the People’s Assembly shall receive a remuneration determined by the law.
The duration of the People’s Assembly term is five Gregorian years from the date of its firstmeeting.
Elections for renewal of the Assembly shall take place within the sixty days preceding thetermination of the term.
The People’s Assembly shall be the only authority competent to decide upon the validelection of its members.
The Court of Cassation shall be competent to investigate contestations of an electionpresented to the Assembly, upon referral by the President of the Assembly.
The contestation shall be referred to the Court of Cassation within fifteen days from the dateof its submission to the Assembly, and the investigation shall be completed within ninety daysfrom the date on which the contestation was referred to the Court of Cassation.
The result of the investigation and the conclusions reached by the Court shall be submitted tothe Assembly for a decision upon the validity of the contestation within sixty days from thedate of submission of the results of the investigation.
The membership will not be deemed invalid except by a decision taken by a majority of twothirdsof the Assembly members.
If the seat of a member becomes vacant before the end of his term, the vacant seat must beoccupied in accordance with the law within sixty days from the date on which the Assemblyis informed of the occurrence of the vacancy. The new member shall complete the term of hispredecessor.
No member of the People’s Assembly shall, during his mandate, purchase or rent any Stateproperty, or lease or sell to the State or barter with it any part of his property, or conclude acontract with the State in his capacity as entrepreneur, importer or contractor.
No membership in the People’s Assembly shall be terminated except for loss of confidence,status or eligibility, the loss of the member’s status as a worker or farmer upon which he waselected, or non-compliance with the duties resulting from his mandate.
The decision on the termination of the membership shall be taken by a majority of two-thirdsof the Assembly members.
The People’s Assembly alone may accept the resignation of one of its members.
Members of the People’s Assembly shall not be censured for any opinions or thoughtsexpressed by them in the performance of their tasks in the Assembly or one of itscommittees.
No member of the People’s Assembly shall be subjected to criminal prosecution without thepermission of the Assembly except in flagrant cases.
If the Assembly is not in session, the permission of the President of the Assembly must beobtained.
The Assembly must be notified of the measures taken in its first subsequent session.
The seat of the People’s Assembly shall be Cairo.
However, in exceptional circumstances, it may meet in another city, at the request of thePresident of the Republic or of the majority of the Assembly members.
Any meeting of the Assembly at another than its designated seat is prohibited and theresolutions passed on this occasion shall be considered invalid.
The President of the Republic shall convoke the People’s Assembly for its ordinary annualsession before the second Thursday of November.
If it is not convoked, the Assembly shall meet as of right on the said day.
The ordinary session shall continue for at least seven months.
The President of the Republic may convoke the People’s Assembly for an extraordinarysession in case of necessity or upon a request signed by a majority of the Assembly members.
The President of the Republic shall announce the closure of the extraordinary session.
The People’s Assembly shall elect, at the first meeting of its ordinary annual session, aPresident and a Vice-President for the term of the session.
If the seat of anyone of them is vacated, the Assembly shall elect a replacement, whose termwill last until the end of his predecessor’s term.
The People’s Assembly shall determine its rules of procedure governing its organization andthe way in which it fulfills its tasks.
The People’s Assembly alone shall have the right to maintain order in its premises.
The President of the Assembly shall be entrusted with this task.
The meetings of the People’s Assembly shall be public.
However, the public may be excluded from the meeting at the request of the President of theRepublic or of the Government or of its Prime Minister or at least twenty of its members.In this case the Assembly shall then decide whether the debate on the issue submitted to itshall take place in a public or in a non-public meeting.
A meeting of the Assembly cannot produce any effects if the majority of the Assembly’smembers are not present.
The resolution of the Assembly shall be adopted by an absolute majority of the attendingmembers in cases other than those for which a specific majority is required.
Every article of the draft laws shall be put to a vote.
In case of a tie vote, the motion under discussion shall be deemed rejected.
In cases of necessity or in exceptional circumstances the President of the Republic shall havethe right, upon authorization by the People’s Assembly approved by two-thirds of itsmembers, to adopt decrees having the force of law. The authorization must be granted for alimited period and indicate the subjects which may be regulated by the decrees and themotives on which they have to be based.
The decrees must be submitted to the People’s Assembly at the first meeting after the end ofthe authorization period. If they are not submitted, or if they are submitted but not approvedby the Assembly they shall cease to have the force of law.
The President of the Republic and every member of the People’s Assembly shall have theright to propose laws.
Every draft law shall be referred to a committee of the Assembly which will examine it andsubmit a report. A draft law presented by members of the People’s Assembly may only bereferred to the committee after it has been referred to a special committee first, which shallexamine the draft law and give its opinion whether it is appropriate for the Assembly toconsider it, and after the Assembly has decided to consider the draft law.
A draft law proposed by a member and rejected by the Assembly cannot be presented again inthe course of the same session.
The President of the Republic shall have the right to promulgate laws or to veto them.
If the President of the Republic vetoes a draft law adopted by the People’s Assembly, he shallrefer it back it to the Assembly within thirty days after the law had been transmitted to him bythe Assembly. If the draft law is not referred back within this period, it is considered law andshall be promulgated.
If it is referred back to the Assembly within the aforementioned delay and approved onceagain by a majority of two- thirds of the members, it is considered law and shall bepromulgated.
The People’s Assembly shall approve the general plan for economic and social development.The procedure for the preparation of the plan and its submission to the People’s Assemblyshall be determined by law.
The draft general budget shall be submitted to the People’s Assembly at least three monthsbefore the beginning of the fiscal year. It shall be considered in effect after approval.The draft budget shall be voted upon title by title and shall be promulgated by a law. ThePeople’s Assembly may modify the expenditures indicated in the draft budget except thosewhich implement a specific commitment of the State. Should the change result in an increaseof expenditures the People’s Assembly must agree with the Government on how to providethe resources needed to balance revenues and expenditures. The budget shall be adopted in theform of a law which may include amendments to laws already in force necessary to realizethat balance.
Should the new budget not be approved before the beginning of the new fiscal year, the oldbudget shall be in effect until ratification. The law shall determine the manner in which thebudget is prepared as well as the fiscal year.
The approval of the People’s Assembly is necessary for the transfer of any funds from onetitle of the budget to another, as well as for any expenditure not included in the budget or inexcess of its estimates, and shall take the form of a law.
The provisions regulating the budgets and accounts of public organizations and organismsshall be prescribed by law.
The final account of the State budget shall be submitted to the People’s Assembly within aperiod not exceeding one year from the date of the expiration of the fiscal year.
It shall be voted-upon title by title and be adopted in the form of a law.
The annual report of the Central Agency for Accounting and its observations must besubmitted to the People’s Assembly.
The Assembly has the right to request from the Central Agency for Accounting, any data orother pertinent reports.
General taxes may only be imposed, modified or abolished by virtue of a law.No one may be exempted from their payment except in the cases specified by law.No one may be asked to pay additional taxes or duties except in the cases specified by law.
The basic rules for the collection of public funds and the procedure for their disbursementshall be regulated by law.
The Executive Authority shall not contract a loan or commit itself to a project entailing thesubsequent expenditure of funds from the State Treasury, except with the approval of thePeople’s Assembly.
The rules governing the granting of salaries, pensions, indemnities, subsides and bonusesfrom the State Treasury shall be determined by a law which shall also regulate the exceptionsfrom these rules, and the authorities charged with their application.
The rules and procedures for granting concessions relating to the investment in the sources ofnatural wealth and in public utilities shall be determined by law; the disposal, free of charge,of real estate properties belonging to the State or the ceding of moveable properties of theState and the rules and issues relating to them shall also be regulated by law.
Every member of the People’s Assembly shall be entitled to address questions to the PrimeMinister or any of his deputies or the Ministers or their deputies concerning matters withintheir jurisdiction.
The Prime Minister, his deputies, the Ministers and the persons authorized by them to speakon their behalf shall answer the questions put to them by members of the People’s Assembly.A member may withdraw his question at any time; the same question may not be form theobject of an interpellation during the same session.
Every member of the People’s Assembly shall be entitled to address interpellations to thePrime Minister or his deputies or to the Ministers or their deputies concerning matters withintheir jurisdiction.
Debate on an interpellation shall take place at least seven days after its submission, except incases of urgency as decided by the Assembly and with the government’s consent.
The Ministers shall be responsible collectively for the general policy of the State before thePeople’s Assembly; every Minister shall also be responsible for the acts of his Ministry.The People’s Assembly may decide to withdraw its confidence from any of the PrimeMinister’s deputies or from any of the Ministers or their deputies.
A motion of no confidence may not be submitted except after an interpellation.
Such a motion shall be proposed by one-tenth of the Assembly’s members.
The Assembly shall not decide on such a motion until after at least three days from the date ofits presentation.
Withdrawal of confidence shall be pronounced by the majority of the members of theAssembly.
The People’s Assembly shall determine the responsibility of the Prime Minister, on a proposalby one- tenth of its members. Such a decision shall be taken by the majority of the membersof the Assembly. It may not be taken except after an interpellation addressed to theGovernment, and after at least three days from the date of its presentation. In the event thatsuch responsibility is determined, the Assembly shall submit a report to the President of theRepublic including the elements of the interpellation, the conclusions reached on the matterand the considerations on which they are based. The President of the Republic may accept theresignation of the Government or return the report to the Assembly within ten days. Shouldthe Assembly approve it once again by a majority of two-thirds of its members, the Presidentof the Republic shall accept the resignation of the Government. Should the proposal on the responsibility of the Prime Minister be rejected, the members requesting the withdrawal ofconfidence may not put forward another request during the same session.
If the Assembly withdraws its confidence from any of the Prime Minister’s deputies or of theMinisters or of their deputies, they shall resign from office.
The Prime Minister shall submit his resignation to the President of the Republic if hisresponsibility is determined by the People’s Assembly.
At least twenty members of the People’s Assembly may ask for the discussion of a publicissue to ascertain the Government’s policy regarding on the matter.
The members of the People’s Assembly shall be entitled to express their opinions concerningpublic issues in the presence of the Prime Minister or any of his deputies or of the Ministers.
The People’s Assembly may form an ad hoc committee or use any of its committees for themonitoring of the activities of any of the administrative departments, the generaladministrative institutions, any administrative or executive organ or of public projects for thepurpose of finding facts and providing the Assembly with information on the actual financial,administrative or economic situation [of those institutions] or for investigating issues relatedto said activities.
In the course of its enquiry, the committee shall be entitled to collect whatever evidence itdeems necessary and to subpoena all those from whom it requests information.All executive and administrative bodies shall comply with the requests of the committee andput at its disposal all the documents and evidence it has asked for.
At the inaugural meeting of the ordinary session of the People’s Assembly, the President ofthe Republic shall deliver a statement of the general policy of the State.
He shall also deliver other statements before the Assembly.
The Assembly is entitled to discuss the statements of the President of the Republic.
The Prime Minister shall submit the program of the Government to the People’s Assemblywithin sixty days of the date of its formation or at its first meeting should the Assembly not bein session. If the Assembly does not approve the program by the majority of its members, the President of the Republic must accept the resignation of the Government. If the Assemblydoes not ratify the program of the new Cabinet, the President of the Republic may eitherdissolve the Assembly or accept the resignation of the Cabinet.The Prime Minister and the Ministers and other members of the Government may deliver astatement before the People’s Assembly or any of its committees on any subject matter withintheir competence. The Assembly or the committee shall discuss the statement and express itsopinions concerning the observations made in the statement.
The Prime Minister, his deputies, the Ministers and their deputies may become members ofthe People’s Assembly.Those of them who are not members may attend the sessions and committees of theAssembly.
The Prime Minister and Ministers shall be heard in the People’s Assembly and its committeeswhenever they request to speak.They may be assisted by high-ranking officials.A Minister shall not be entitled to vote in the Assembly, unless he is a member.
The President of the Republic shall not dissolve the Assembly unless it is necessary. If theAssembly has been dissolved over a particular issue, it may not be dissolved again over thesame issue. The decision must include a call for new elections to be held sixty days at thelatest after the dissolution order has been issued.
The new Assembly shall hold its first meeting within ten days of its election.
The President of the Republic shall assume executive power and shall exercise it in themanner stipulated in the Constitution.
The President of the Republic in coordination with the Government shall lay down the generalpolicy of the State and supervise its implementation in the manner prescribed in theConstitution.
The President of the Republic shall exercise the competences stipulated in Articles 144, 145,146 and 147 after having obtained the approval of the Cabinet and the competences stipulatedin Articles 108, 148, 151 (second paragraph) after its consultation.
The President of the Republic may appoint one or more Vice-Presidents, define theircompetences and relieve them of their posts.
The rules on the accountability of the President of the Republic shall be applicable equally tothe Vice-Presidents.
Before assuming his functions, the Vice-President shall take the following oath before thePresident of the Republic:
“I swear by Almighty God to uphold the Republican system faithfully, to respect theConstitution and the law, to look after the interests of the people and to safeguard theindependence and territorial integrity of the motherland”.
The President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister and relieve him of hisfunctions; the appointment and dismissal of the deputies of the Prime Minister, of theMinisters and their deputies shall be made by the President of the Republic after consultationof the Prime Minister.
The President of the Republic shall have the right to call a meeting of the Council of Ministersand to attend its meeting.
He shall also preside over the meetings he attends.
He shall be entitled to demand reports from the Ministers.
The President of the Republic shall appoint the civil and military officials and the diplomaticrepresentatives, and to dismiss them in the manner prescribed by law.He shall also accredit the diplomatic representatives of foreign states.
The President of the Republic shall issue the necessary regulations for the implementation ofthe laws in a manner which does not modify, obstruct or prevent their execution.
He shall have the right to vest others with authority to issue the regulations.
The law may determine the authorities competent to take the measures required for theirimplementation.
The President of the Republic shall issue the police regulations.
The President of Republic shall issue the necessary rules for the creation and organization ofthe public services and authorities.
If events during the absence of the People’s Assembly require the adoption of measures whichcannot be delayed, the President of the Republic may take them by issuing regulations whichhave the force of law. They must be submitted to the People’s Assembly within fifteen daysfrom their date of issuance if the Assembly is in session. In case of dissolution or recess of theAssembly, they shall be submitted at its first meeting.
In case the regulations are not submitted to the Assembly, they lose their binding characterwith retroactive effect, without need for a specific decision to this effect. If they are submittedbut not ratified, they cease to be effective retroactively, unless the Assembly ratifies theirvalidity for the previous period or determines their effects in any other manner.
The President of the Republic shall proclaim a state of emergency in the manner prescribed bylaw.
The proclamation must be submitted within the following fifteen days to the People’sAssembly for a decision.
In case the People’s Assembly is dissolved, the matter shall be submitted to the newAssembly at its first meeting.
In all cases, the proclamation of the state of emergency shall be issued for a limited periodwhich may only be extended with the approval of the Assembly.
The President of Republic shall have the right of granting amnesty or commuting sentences.A general amnesty can only be granted by virtue of a law.
The President of Republic shall be the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.He shall be the authority who declares war, after the approval of the People’s Assembly.
The President of Republic shall conclude international treaties and forward them to thePeople’s Assembly with the necessary explanations.
The treaties shall have the force of law after their conclusion, ratification and publication inaccordance with the established procedure. However, peace treaties, alliance pacts,commercial and maritime and all the treaties involving modifications in the national territoryor affecting the rights of sovereignty, or imposing charges on the State treasury which are notprovided for in the budget must be approved by the People’s Assembly.
The President of the Republic may call a referendum on important matters affecting thesupreme interests of the country.
The Government shall be the supreme executive and administrative organ of the State.
It shall consist of the Prime Minister, his deputies, the Ministers and their deputies.
The Prime Minister shall supervise the work of the government.
Whoever is appointed Minister or Deputy-Minister must be an Egyptian, of no less than 35Gregorian years of age, and enjoy full civil and political rights.
Before assuming the duties of their office, the members of the Cabinet shall take thefollowing oath before the President of the Republic:
“I swear by Almighty God to uphold the Republican system faithfully, to respect the
Constitution and the law, to look after the interests of the people, and to safeguard the
independence and territorial integrity of the motherland”.
The Cabinet shall exercise the following functions in particular:
The Minister shall be the supreme administrative chief of his ministry.He shall lay down the ministry’s policy within the framework of the State’s general policy,and see to its implementation.
During his term in office, the Minister shall not practice a free profession, pursue acommercial, financial or industrial activity, buy or rent any State property, lease or sell to orbarter with the State any of his own property.
The President of the Republic and the People’s Assembly shall have the right to bring aMinister to trial for crimes committed in the performance of or with regard to the duties of hisoffice.
The decision of the People’s Assembly to charge a minister shall be adopted upon a proposalsubmitted by at least one-fifth of its members.
No indictment shall be issued except by a majority of two- thirds of the members of theAssembly.
Any minister indicted shall cease in his functions until his case is decided.
The termination of his functions shall not prevent legal action being taken or pursued againsthim.
The trial of the minister, the procedures and guarantees of the trial, and the indictment shall beregulated by the law.
The same rules shall apply to Deputy Ministers.
The Arab Republic of Egypt shall be divided into administrative units with distinct legalpersonality, including regions, cities and villages. Other administrative units may be createdwith legal personality if this is required by the common interest.
The law guarantees decentralization and determines the means to empower the administrativeunits with regard to the provision of local services and utilities, their development and goodmanagement.
Local People’s Councils shall be gradually formed, at the level of the administrative units, bydirect election, providing that at least half of their members shall be workers and farmers.
The law shall provide for the gradual transfer of authority to them.
Presidents and Vice-Presidents, of the Councils shall be elected from among their members.
The law shall prescribe the way in which the Local People’s Councils are established, theircompetences, their financial resources, the status of their members, their relations to thePeople’s Assembly and to the Government and their role in the preparation andimplementation of the development plan and the control of the various activities.
Specialized Councils shall be established on the national level to assist in the determination ofthe general policy of the State in all fields of national endeavor.
These councils shall be attached to the President of the Republic.
A Presidential decree shall determine the formation and functions of each council.
The Judicial Authority shall be independent.
It shall be exercised by courts of justice of different types and forms which shall issue theirjudgments in accordance with the law.
Judges shall be independent and be subject to no other authority but the law.No outside authority may intervene in court cases or judicial matters.
The law shall determine the organization of the judiciary and its functions and the way inwhich it is established and shall prescribe the conditions and procedures concerning theappointment and transfer of its members.
The judges may not be dismissed from office.
The law shall determine the disciplinary measures which may be applied to them.
The hearings of the courts shall be public, unless the court decides to exclude the public forreasons of public order or morality.
In all cases, judgments shall be pronounced in public sessions.
The people shall contribute to the administration of justice, in accordance with the proceduresand limits prescribed by law.
The law shall regulate the organization of the State Security Courts and fix their competencesas well as the conditions to be fulfilled by the judges sitting on those courts.
The State Council shall be an independent judicial organ which has the competence todetermine administrative disputes and disciplinary cases. The law shall determine its othercompetences.
Every judicial body shall manage its own affairs. A council shall be established in which thepresidents of the judicial bodies are assembled under the chairmanship of the President of theRepublic to administer their common affairs.
The law shall regulate its formation, competences and rules of procedure.
The Supreme Constitutional Court shall be an independent judicial body with distinct legalpersonality in the Arab Republic of Egypt and shall have its seat in Cairo.
The Supreme Constitutional Court has the exclusive competence to control theconstitutionality of laws and regulations and to interpret the legislative texts in the mannerprescribed by the law.
The law shall determine the other competences of the court and regulate the procedure to befollowed before it.
The law shall regulate the establishment of the Supreme Constitutional Court and determinethe requirements to be fulfilled by its members, their rights and immunities.
The members of the Supreme Constitutional Court may not be dismissed from office.The Court shall call to account its members in the manner prescribed by the law.
The judgments issued by the Supreme Constitutional Court in constitutional cases and itsdecisions concerning the interpretation of legislative texts shall be published in the OfficialGazette.
The law shall regulate the legal effects of a decision declaring the unconstitutionality of alegislative text.
The State shall strive to safeguard the general discipline and security in the face of thedangers of terrorism. The law shall regulate the prosecution and investigation proceduresrequired by the fight against these dangers in such a manner that the measures described in thefirst paragraph of Article 41 and the second paragraph of Articles 44 and 45 do not obstructthis fight, subject to the supervision of the judiciary.
The President of the Republic may refer crimes of terrorism to any judicial body establishedby the Constitution or the law.
The State alone shall establish Armed Forces which owe their allegiance to the people.
Their duty shall be to protect the country and safeguard its territory and security.
No organization or group may establish military or semi-military formations.
General mobilization shall be organized in accordance with the law.
A National Defense Council shall be established over which the President of the Republicshall preside and which shall examine all questions pertaining to the ways and means toensure the safety and the security of the country.
The law shall determine its other prerogatives.
The law shall organize the military courts and determine their competences within theframework of the principles of the Constitution.
The Police constitute a civil institution.
Its Supreme Chief shall be the President of the Republic.
The Police shall perform its duty in the service of the people, safeguards the peace andsecurity of the citizens, ensures order, security and public morality, and carries out thefunctions assigned to it by the laws and regulations in the manner prescribed by law.
The city of Cairo shall be the capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The law shall establish the national flag and the provisions relating thereto,
as well as the State emblem and the provisions relating thereto.
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Legal provisions apply only from the date of their entry into force, and shall have noretroactive effect.
However, provisions to the contrary may be adopted in other than criminal matters, with theapproval of the majority of the members of the People’s Assembly.
All laws shall be published in the Official Gazette within two weeks from the date of theirissuance.
They shall be put into effect a month after their publication unless another date has been fixedfor this purpose.
The President of the Republic, as well as the People’s Assembly, may request the amendmentof one or more Articles of the Constitution. The Articles to be revised and the reasons for theamendment must be indicated in the request. In case the request emanates from the People’sAssembly, it must be signed by at least one-third of the Assembly members.
In all cases, the Assembly shall discuss the amendment in principle; the decision on the mattershall be taken by the majority of its members. If the request is rejected, the amendment of thesame Articles may not be requested again before the expiration of one year following therejection.
If the People’s Assembly approves the principle of revision, the Articles to be amended shallbe discussed two months after the revision has been approved. If the modification is approvedby two-thirds of the members of the Assembly, it must be referred to the people for areferendum. If the amendment is approved by the people, it shall become effective on the dateof the announcement of the result of the referendum.
The term of the present President of the Republic shall end after six years starting with theday of the announcement of his election as President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
All laws and regulations which have entered into force prior to the proclamation of thisConstitution shall remain valid and in force.
However, they may be repealed or amended in accordance with the rules and procedures fixedby this Constitution.
Wherever the term “referendum” is used in this Constitution with regard to the election of thePresident, it shall be replaced by the word “elections”.
This Constitution shall enter into force on the date on which its approval by the people in thereferendum is proclaimed.
The Shura Council shall carry out the studies and submit the proposals it deems necessary topreserve national unity and social peace and to protect the basic foundations of society, itssupreme values, its rights and liberties and its public duties.
The Shura Council shall approve the following matters:
If a dispute occurs between the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council concerning theseissues, the Speaker of the People’s Assembly shall submit the matter to a joint committeecomposed of the Speakers of the two Assemblies and seven members of each Assembly to beselected by their General Committee in order to submit a text on the provisions which formthe object of the dispute.
The final text adopted by this committee shall be reviewed by the two Assemblies. If either ofthem does not approve the text, the matter shall be referred to a joint meeting of the twoAssemblies under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, in a placedesignated by him and with the attendance of at least the majority of the members of the twoAssemblies.
If the committee does not agree on a unified text, the two Assemblies may, at their jointmeeting, approve any text adopted by either of them.
Without prejudice to the requirement of a special majority stipulated by the Constitution, thedecision taken by either of the two Assemblies or by the joint meeting must be approved bythe majority of the members present.
In any case, the vote takes place without debate.
The Shura Council shall be consulted on the following matters:
The Assembly shall submit to the President of the Republic and the People’s Assembly itsopinion on these matters.
The Shura Council shall be composed of a number of members defined by law but not inferiorto 132 members.
Two-thirds of the members shall be elected by direct and secret public ballot; at least half ofthem must be workers and farmers.
The President of the Republic shall appoint the remaining third.
The law shall determine the electoral constituencies of the Shura Council, the number ofmembers for each constituency and the requirements which the elected or appointed membersof the Shura Council must fulfill.
The term of membership of the Shura Council is six years, with the renewal of half of itselected and appointed members taking place every three years in accordance with the law. It is permitted to re-elect or re-appoint a member whose term has expired.
The Shura Council shall elect a President and two Vice-Presidents at its first meeting of theordinary annual session for a period of three years.
If one of these offices becomes vacant, the Assembly shall elect a successor for the rest of theterm.
No member can hold office in both the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council at the sametime.
The Prime Minister and his deputies, the Ministers and government officials shall not beaccountable to the Shura Council.
The President of the Republic has the right to make a statement upon the general policy of theState or upon any other matter before a joint meeting of the People’s Assembly and the ShuraCouncil, headed by the Speaker of the People’s Assembly.
The President of the Republic has the right to make whatever statements he wishes before theShura Council.
The Prime minister and the Ministers and other government officials may make statementsbefore the Shura Council or one of its committees upon issues falling within theircompetence.
The Prime Minister and his deputies and other government officials shall be heard by theShura Council and its committees upon their request, and they may seek the assistance ofgovernment officials as they see fit.
However, no Minister or other government official may participate in the vote unless he is amember.
The President of the Republic may dissolve the Shura Council only in the case of necessity.The decision must include a call for new elections to be held sixty days at the latest after thedissolution order has been issued.
The new Council shall hold its first meeting within ten days of its election.
The following Articles of the Constitution shall apply to the Shura Council:
62, 88 (paragraph 2), 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107,129, 130, 134,
insofar as they are not incompatible with the provisions in this Chapter, whenthe Council and its President exercise the their competences defined in the Articles above.
The Press is a popular, independent power which fulfills its mission in accordance with thestipulations of the Constitution and the law.
The Press shall exercise its mission freely and independently in the service of society throughall means of expression in order to interpret the trends of public opinion and contribute totheir formation and orientation within the framework of the basic foundations of society, theprotection of the liberties, rights and public duties and the respect for the private life ofcitizens in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
The freedom of the press is guaranteed and press censorship is prohibited.It is also prohibited to threaten, suspend or suppress a newspaper through administrativemeasures, as stipulated in the Constitution and defined by law.
The freedom of public or private corporations or companies and of political parties to publishor own newspapers is protected in accordance with the law.The ownership, the funding and the possessions of newspapers are subject to the control ofthe people, as defined by the Constitution and the law.
Journalists have the right to gather news and information in the conditions fixed by law.Their activities are subject only to the law.
The Supreme Council of the Press shall deal with matters concerning the press. The law shall define its composition, competencies and its relationship with the Stateauthorities. The Supreme Press Council shall exercise its competencies with a view toconsolidate the freedom of the press and its independence, to uphold the basic foundations ofsociety, and to guarantee the strength of national unity and social peace as defined by theConstitution and the law.
