Cairo 05\03\2007.
Current Egyptian
constitution stated in article N.85 that (the
president's accusation of high treason or of a criminal crime decided
according to a suggestion of at least third of the People Assembly's
members and the accusation decision do not issued except with the majority
of third of the assembly . The republic president stops working
immediately after the accusation decision issued, the vise-president takes
charge of the presidency provisionally until the accusation is judged. The
president's trial shall be before private court. Law decides this court's
formation, procedures and punishments. If the president's accusation
proved he is released of his position without lessen the other
punishments).
According
to this article it's supposed that there is a law organizes this trail;
explain its formation, procedures of trailing and of punishment.
Since the Egyptian
permanent constitution was issued on 1971 until nowadays there is
not a law to organize this.
Really we are surprised
when the formation committee which is responsible for laying down the
constitutional amendments amended the second paragraph of article N.85
as: "the republic president stops working immediately after issuing the
accusation report, the vise-president or the Prime Minister tacks charge
of the presidency provisionally if there is no vise-president according to
the second paragraph of article N. 28 until the accusation is
judged.
So, who is responsible for
judging the accusation!?
Then comes the new
formation of article N. 194 concerning Shura Council which imposes
that Shura Council should approve the drafts which complete the
constitution which are stated in the coming constitutional articles …one
of which is article N. 85 of the constitution although the
amendment suggested does not mention any law to organize the republic
president's trial in case of high treason accusation.
We suggested before that
article N.85 may stay as it is, accompanied by a law to organize
the president's trial procedures. We wish that the formation committee may
consider these notes in the formation of the amendments.
The constitution regarded
as the principle law of any state, it is above its legal organization, and
it has supremacy that any other legal base do not has, this supremacy
related to what the constitution contains of organizing the state's high
authorities, its specializations, limits, regulations on one side and its
relation with the citizens and their rights on the other side. This means
that the mistake in a constitutional article is a mistake that the
formation committee will not suffer alone but all of us as well.
