The rule of law is key to delivering societies that are accountable, transparent, and just. Yet the MENA region’s legal and judicial developments are under-studied and rarely part of the policy discourse, while lawyers are under-resourced and at risk for their work.
TIMEP’s Legal Unit recognizes the instrumental role that the law and legal community play in protecting localized perspectives and shaping the societies in which these perspectives can thrive. Through research and documentation, the Legal Unit makes key legal and judicial developments understandable for policy audiences. Its support and advocacy work lends assistance to lawyers at risk individually and for their work; and its commitment to Arabic legal education is an investment in the future, helping guarantee that the legal community has access to the tools and skill set necessary to advance its contributions.
Unpacking legal and judicial developments is essential to a contextualized understanding of the MENA region and in proposing forward-thinking policy solutions. The Legal Unit’s research and documentation work explains the region’s top legal and judicial issues for a non-technical policy audience.
This brief delves into some of the primary issues affecting and implicating the country’s religious minorities, who are primarily Coptic Christian, but also include members of other Christian denominations, Jews, Shi‘a Muslims, Ahmadis, Quranists, Baha’is, and atheists.
On October 3, 2020, the parties signed the Juba Peace Agreement, which amended the Charter and incorporated rebel leaders into the transitional coalition. The Draft Constitutional Charter, as amended, serves as Sudan’s interim constitution and roadmap for the country’s transition.
October 9 marks ten years since the Maspero Massacre. As a result of indiscriminate state violence and incitement, 28 Egyptians were killed and hundreds were injured. One decade later, accountability for the victims and survivors remains unrealized.
As lawyers increasingly face reprisal for their legal defense work and exercise of fundamental freedoms, accessing the international legal and policy space can lend them protection and bolster their domestic efforts. The Legal Unit’s support and advocacy work protects lawyers at risk as human rights defenders and complements their work on-the-ground while leveraging international legal and policy tools.
The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), joined by lawyers, law students, and organizations conducting legal work from around the world, come together to stand in solidarity with Egyptian human rights lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer.
As Egypt’s record on women’s human rights and gender equality issues came under CEDAW review, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) compiled a joint submission that highlights a series of timely issues impacting women in Egypt, from law to practice.
On July 19, 2021, the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) joined a global coalition of 16 organizations to call for the release of Egyptian human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer ahead of his 41st birthday on July 20.
Recognizing the deteriorating state of legal education in the region and the limited availability of context-specific, accessible international legal resources, the Legal Unit’s education work is an investment in the future of the legal community that crafts and offers practical Arabic learning tools, including courses, trainings, and legal guides.
TIMEP releases “Effective Communication between the Lawyer and Defendant and the Right to a Fair Trial: A Guide for Lawyers in Egypt,” authored by human rights lawyer and legal researcher Adel Ramadan.
