Legal experts and scholars are debating whether the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has the authority to amend Article 60 of the Constitutional Declaration or to issue a new article concerning the formation of the Constituent Assembly following sharp criticism from a number of political forces against such an action.
Cairo University Constitutional Law Professor Tharwat Badawy said, “The SCAF has no right to issue such an article, and the People’s Assembly is the concerned authority in such a matter.”
According to the March 2011 Constitutional Declaration, following the election of Parliament, the SCAF would immediately deliver legislative authority to it. Badawy went on to say that, “The SCAF has no legitimacy as it was not elected by the people, the 1971 Constitution gives it no authority and deposed [President Hosni] Mubarak had no right to entrust it with the administration of the country’s affairs.”
“The SCAF gravely mismanaged the country’s affairs and was floundering in its decisions since taking office, so how can we trust it with the issuance of such an article,” Badawy added.
Sabri al-Sanusi, a public law professor at Cairo University, disagreed, saying, “If Parliament does not respond to the political forces’ demands to amend Article 60 concerning the formation of the Constituent Assembly, then there will be no escape from the issuance of a supplement to the Constitutional Declaration amending it.”
“The SCAF has the right to technically issue or modify it as it is the country’s de facto ruler; however, in practice this would be considered an infringement on the People’s Assembly’s role in discussing legislative and constitutional articles,” Sanusi told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
“The SCAF issued a temporary Constitutional Declaration made up of 63 articles, including the articles placed up for referendum, after single-handedly amending it based on the legitimacy granted to it since the revolution,” said former State Council head Mohamed Hamed al-Gamal.
“Therefore, the SCAF retains the right to remove, amend, or add to the declaration throughout the transitional period and until a new president is elected.”
Gamal went on to say that, “The SCAF has the right to issue an article concerned with the Constituent Assembly formation, and it is the only power with this authority, while the People’s Assembly and Shura Council have no stake in this matter.”
On Tuesday, the SCAF gave political parties and movements a Thursday deadline to agree on the selection criteria for members of the Constituent Assembly. The SCAF said it would issue a supplement to the Constitutional Declaration specifying such criteria in the event of their failure to come to a consensus.
SCAF’s declaration was met with opposition from Parliament, which is dominated by Islamists, as the Constitutional Declaration grants it the right to choose the Constituent Assembly members.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
