Appealing against the constitutionality of the political isolation law

Type: Constitutional

Case no.: 57 constitutional judiciary year 34

Case Year: 2012

Representation: Appellant

Verdict:

Verdict Date: 14 – 6- 2012

Judges: President – Abdul Wahhab Abdul Raziq

Members – Abdul Monem Hashish and Adel Omar Sherif and Ragab Selim and Bolos Fahmi Eskanda and Mahmoud Mohamed Ghoneim and Hassan Abdul Monem al Badrawi

Court: Supreme Constitutional Court
Subject Lawsuit and no.:

The adverse Ahmed Mohamed Shafiq submitted a request to the Presidential Elections Committee as a candidate to presidency to run the elections determined to run on 23rd and 24th May year 2012 and this committee decided on 13-4-2012 to accept his candidacy. As, starting from 24- 4-2012, the provisions of the law no. 17 year 2012 was put in effect with the amendments of some provisions of the law no. 73 year 1956 to organize practicing political rights which added a new item no. 3 for the article 3 of this law, to include suspending the political rights for everybody who worked during the previous ten years before 11-2-2011 as a president of the Republic or a vice president or a prime minister of… “and that for ten years starting from the date pointed to, in execution to this law the Presidential Elections Committee issued a decision dated 24-4-2012  to exclude the mentioned from presidential candidacy as he worked as a prime minister in the last days of the previous president, and he appealed against this decision on 25-4-2012 as original request to cancel this decision and to continue to register him in the lists of candidates and secondary to suspend the decision appealed against and refer the papers to the supreme constitutional court to rule in the constitutionality of the law no. 17 year 2012 pointed to.

 

The legal text appealed against:

Item 4 of article 3 of the practicing of political rights law issued by law 73 year 1956 amended by the first artile of the law no. 17 year 2012 which states to suspend the practicing of the political rights for the following personnels:

1- Interdicted as long as they are under interdiction

2- Those who suffer from mental illness as long as they are confined in a sanatorium

3- Who have been bankrupt for a period of five years from the date of their bankruptcy unless they are considered prior to that

4- Everybody who worked during the ten years prior to 11th February 2011 as a president to the Republic or a vice president or a prime minister or a  head or a secretary general or a  member in its political office or its General Secretariat of the dissolved national party for ten years starting from the date pointed to

The constitutional text claimed to be violated:

Article 33 of the constitutional announcement issued in March 2011 stating as follows “the parliament takes the authority of legislation once it is elected and decides the state’s general politics and the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget and practices monitoring the executive authority acts

Article 46 of the constitutional announcement issued in March 2011 stating “Judiciary authority is independent under the  authority of courts of different sorts and issue its verdicts according to law

Article 19 of the constitutional announcement issued in March 2011 stating “penalty is personal and no crime or penalty except according to law and no penalty is executed except with judiciary verdict and no penalty for the acts after the date of execution
Appealed Against: the Presidential Elections Committee

Verdict:

The court ruled of the non constitutional the first article of the law no. 17 year 2012 amended some provisions of law no. 73 year 1956 to organize practicing political rights and the suspension of the second article