Emergency Law for Dummies

Watch the televised People’s Assembly (PA) sessions, and you would think the most pressing concerns of the country are pornographic websites, English lessons in schools, and an MP’s nose job. Yes, they’ve also grilled Cabinet ministers on security, the budget and other issues, but they seem to be ignoring one of the most abused laws of the last 30 years: the Emergency Law. For years activists have called for an end to the Emergency Law, saying it is an infringement on personal freedom and human rights. With the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, who used the law to stifle political opposition, now seems to be the perfect opportunity. But we cannot change what we do not understand. How many of us know exactly what the Emergency Law is?  On a more personal level, do we know what our rights are when dealing with the authorities? I certainly did not, so I turned to Chief Judge of the Cairo Economic Disputes Court Ahmed Mostafa to find out what it means to live under the Emergency Law. First order of business was to look at the January 24 announcement by Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF); he said he would lift the Emergency Law but that the law would still apply in cases of “thuggery.” So the Emergency Law is lifted? “Of course it is not lifted at all,” Mostafa states firmly. “It has just added to who will be judged by it.” LONG ARM OF THE LAW Law 162 of 1958, otherwise known as the Emergency Law, was first enacted by then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It comprises just 20 articles, with additional clauses added over the years. Nasser declared a state of emergency in 1967, which remained in effect for much of the 1970s. After the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat, Mubarak declared a state of emergency, and Egypt has been governed by Emergency Law ever since. According to Mostafa, every state needs an emergency law that goes into effect in situations such as war, earthquakes and credible security threats. He points to the period right after Mubarak’s ouster as a perfect example of when the Emergency Law should be used. The police were nowhere to be seen, and looting and violence were rampant. The situation was truly a state of emergency. “How the law is applied and to whom are what truly matters,” the judge says. “In Egypt, it has been badly abused.” The real problem with the Emergency Law is the powers given to the president. “He could arrest anyone, he could censor anything, could imprison anyone, any newspaper could be banned,” explains Mostafa. “It gave him powers without limits.” Article 3 of the Emergency Law lists all the powers given to the president. He can decide who is a threat to public security. The president can give the Interior Minister permission to arrest any person the president wants, for any reason and have that person imprisoned for six months. Only after six months does the person have the right to learn the reason for his detention. The detainee can only be released by order of the State Security court. Article 4 allows the president to order the armed forces into the streets to impose the state of emergency. The president can also bypass the civilian judicial system by forming special courts with military officers and referring citizens to these courts. Article 9 gives the president the authority to transfer cases normally dealt with by public law to a State Security Court. Under Article 12, a State Security Court verdict cannot be appealed, but the State Security court verdicts cannot be put into effect without the president’s approval. With the Interior Ministry delegated enforce the president’s will, Mostafa notes, Emergency Law powers have been misused and misunderstood even by the police themselves. “Policemen often thought they were above the law. During [ex-interior minister] Habib El Adly’s period, carte blanche was given by him to arrest anyone,” Mostafa notes. “The betterment of our country relies on the police forces, and they need to understand what human rights mean. [I] dare you to find more than 10% of policemen or people working at the interior ministry who have read the Emergency Law.” I was surprised to learn that when the police stop a car, they have no right to search the car or the individual unless they have a warrant. They can check your ID card, but they cannot search you. In terms of  how the law directly affects us, Mostafa says that the average person on the street will never face the consequences of the law — except if the person is arrested or detained without necessarily having committed any crime. That, he says, is “horrible.” EMERGENCY REFORM If and when the state of emergency is finally lifted, Mostafa explains that the Emergency Law itself needs to be amended to limit the president’s powers. The judge points out that the PA missed a golden opportunity to address the issue directly. According to article 59 of the Constitutional Declaration, if Parliament is dissolved when a state of emergency is declared, “the matter will be reviewed by the new Assembly at its first meeting. A majority of the members of the People’s Assembly must agree to the announcement of a state of emergency. In all cases, the announcement of a state of emergency will [not exceed] six months.” I’m no legal expert, but it seems like the new Parliament had the right to review the state of emergency after Tantawi’s vague announcement about how the Emergency Law would be applied. “Why hasn’t anyone done this?” I ask Mostafa. The judge just laughs and says it’s because no one understands anything. It is clear that we need to be more aware of the laws that are supposedly governing our country. Only when we understand the consequences of our laws, will we be able to choose better representatives in Parliament — and make them accountable to our will.