In recent years prior and in the time since the approval of Egypt’s April 2019 constitutional amendments implicating prosecutorial and judicial authority, the appointment process, mandate, and authorities of the Public Prosecutor and the prosecution as a whole have continued to have significant implications for fair trial guarantees.
In the culmination of six months of research as a TIMEP Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellow, Nourhan Fahmy has produced a series of resources that explore Egypt’s prosecution and that delve into contemporary questions on the impact of recent developments on the judicial system and the practice of law in Egypt.
This package includes:
- A fact sheet which helps users navigate what the Public Prosecution is, who the Public Prosecutor is, and how he is appointed. The fact sheet also provides a spotlight into the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which has become increasingly active and visible in recent years.
- An analysis that examines how recent constitutional amendments, legislative changes, and administrative measures have expanded prosecutorial authority and in turn, severely affected fair trial guarantees at every stage of the process, from interrogation to arrest, and ultimately, prosecution and trial.
- An analysis that explores how the practice of law has had to evolve and adapt to expanding prosecutorial authority, how lawyers have been impacted in the process, and by extension, what the right to counsel means or does not mean in the current period.
Nourhan’s research could not have been possible without the time and expertise of a number of practicing lawyers, legal scholars, and academics who graciously participated in interviews throughout the research process. TIMEP is grateful to those who supported Nourhan’s work–those who are explicitly named throughout the research and those who are not.