Rights groups and lawmakers have welcomed President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s decision to return Egypt’s newly approved criminal procedures bill to parliament for further review, calling the rare presidential veto a critical opportunity to correct sweeping legal overreach.
“This isn’t just a procedural delay. It’s a constitutional and political moment,” said a source close to the legislative process, speaking on condition of anonymity to Al Manassa. With no formal deadline for redrafting, revisions may ultimately be deferred to the next parliament.
Legal advocate Ahmed Ragheb described the president’s intervention as “encouraging,” saying it ended a months-long stalemate. “We had demanded this step,” he told Al Manassa. “It restores public debate and reflects the spirit of the national dialogue.”
Ragheb downplayed international pressure, attributing the reversal to sustained domestic advocacy, particularly from the Press Syndicate and legal NGOs. He argued that Egypt’s existing criminal code, if applied fairly, already contains tools to protect due process.
In a statement late Sunday, parliament welcomed the president’s intervention and scheduled an emergency session for Oct. 1 to reopen debate. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly is expected to attend. However, the move comes just weeks before parliamentary elections, raising doubts about whether substantial amendments can be achieved in time.
Passed in April, the bill drew sharp rebuke from UN bodies and Egyptian legal experts. Detractors warned it concentrated power in the hands of public prosecutors, curtailed defense access, and normalized remote trials without legal safeguards.
According to presidential legal adviser Mahmoud Fawzy, this marks only the fourth instance in Egypt’s modern legislative history where a president has withheld ratification. Fawzy said Sisi’s decision reflects “respect for constitutional checks and balances.”
In its statement, the presidency said the bill lacked sufficient protections for home privacy, defendant rights, and safeguards against prolonged pretrial detention. It also stressed the need for clearer legal language to prevent conflicting interpretations and called for institutional readiness before implementation.
In recent months, UN experts and human rights groups had raised alarms over the bill’s broader implications. In May, the UN Committee Against Torture warned it would entrench emergency powers and prolong the use of exceptional courts, despite the formal end of Egypt’s state of emergency in 2021.
Before its April passage, the bill was challenged by the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, which cited “serious constitutional and legal defects.” Rights lawyers and journalists echoed those concerns, flagging provisions related to electronic surveillance, asset seizures, harsh financial penalties, and constraints on public-interest litigation.
Despite these red flags, lawmakers pushed the bill forward with minimal consultation, disregarding calls for broader civic input.
Rights advocates now see Sisi’s move as a rare political break. But with elections looming and no clear timetable for revisions, the onus is on parliament to act, or risk punting reform to the next legislative cycle.
