Egypt’s draft Criminal Procedure Code risks entrenching law enforcement impunity and curbing judicial oversight and defendants’ rights. Key provisions retain significant prosecutorial powers, restrict access to justice for victims, and fall short of international human rights standards regarding pre-trial detention and enforced disappearance.
The ongoing review of Egypt’s proposed draft Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), articulated in a 95-page document released by pro-government platforms in August 2024, raises serious concerns regarding human rights and judicial integrity. This document, bearing the endorsement of the Egyptian Parliament’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, is indicative of potential legislative changes that may further entrench impunity for human rights violations by law enforcement officials while simultaneously limiting access to justice for victims. The proposed Article 162 retains provisions that squarely place limit case investigations related to public officials solely in the hands of public prosecutors. These provisions have historically facilitated a culture of impunity, allowing pervasive instances of torture and abuse by security forces to go unchecked. While Article 123 proposes to curtail the maximum allowable pre-trial detention periods from 6 months for misdemeanors to 4 months, and from 18 months for felonies to 12 months, it ultimately fails to meet international human rights standards. Moreover, the code does not mitigate the prevalent practice of arbitrary pre-trial detention, which since 2013 has unjustly imprisoned thousands of political dissenters without trial. Legal loopholes in the proposed amendments may perpetuate the “recycling” of charges, which has allowed authorities to keep detainees under extended arbitrary detention conditions. Further compounding these issues are provisions that appear to abridge fundamental fair trial rights. Article 92, for example, delegates significant investigative authority to public prosecutors, undermining the independence of judicial oversight. Articles 72 and 73 are particularly troubling, as they allow prosecutors to deny defense lawyers access to critical case documents and the ability to represent defendants adequately. Moreover, the introduction of remote video hearings, as laid out in Articles 525 to 532, threatens due process by depriving judges of the ability to ascertain detention legality or conditions firsthand. The proposed legislation also fails to rectify the absence of a definition of enforced disappearance within Egypt’s legal framework, contravening international obligations and lacking critical safeguards against such practices by security agencies. In summary, should Egypt adopt the CPC in its present form, it is poised to exacerbate existing injustices within the legal system, embolden violations by law enforcement, and deny essential rights to victims and defendants alike. The ramifications of these changes could have profound implications for human rights in Egypt.
The review scrutinizes the proposed amendments to Egypt’s Criminal Procedure Code, which has raised alarms regarding the potential perpetuation of human rights abuses and erosion of judicial protections. Currently, law enforcement in Egypt operates under an almost unchecked authority, primarily due to provisions that place investigative powers solely within the purview of public prosecutors. This draft, although intended to reform the CPC, risks solidifying the status quo of widespread impunity, arbitrary detention, and violations of fair trial rights.
The proposed draft Criminal Procedure Code threatens to deepen the impunity that currently characterizes law enforcement practices in Egypt, further erode the right to fair trial, and maintain excessive pre-trial detention periods without adequate judicial oversight. By failing to address critical issues such as enforced disappearances and restricting defendants’ rights, the draft represents a backward step in the promotion of human rights and the rule of law in Egypt.
Original Source: www.hrw.org
