Drafting Egyprt's Constitution: Can A New Legal Framework Revive A Flawed Transition?

This paper identifies the most important issues to be tackled by the Constituent Assembly of Egypt in drafting the Constitution and offers the following recommendations for addressing them: Islamic law and liberal rights, Institutions of governance, Fundamental rights, The state of emergency, Judicial independence and Human rights mechanisms. It also confirms that the international community must recognize the importance of allowing Egypt’s constitution to emerge organically. With constitution drafting yet to begin in Libya and the possibility of further transitions in Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere in the region, policymakers should study the Egyptian case as a cautionary tale of how not to initiate a constitution writing process.