Part Two: The People's Assembly
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| Art.86: |
The People’s Assembly shall exercise the legislative power, approve the general
policy of the State, the general plan of economic and social development and
the general budget of the State. It shall exercise control over the work of the
executive authority in the manner prescribed by the Constitution. |
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| Art.87: |
The law shall determine the
constituencies into which the State shall be divided. The number of the elected
members of the People’s Assembly must be at least 350 members of whom one half
at least must be workers and farmers elected by direct secret pubic balloting.
The Law shall determine the definition of the worker and the farmer. The
President of the Republic may appoint a number of members not exceeding ten. |
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| Art.88: |
The Law shall determine the
conditions which members of the Assembly must fulfil as well as the rules of
election and referendum, while the ballot shall be conducted under the
supervision of the members of a judiciary organ. |
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| Art.89: |
Employees of the State and the
public sector may nominate themselves for membership in the People’s Assembly
with the exception of cases determined by law. The member of the People’s
Assembly shall devote himself entirely to his duties, while his former work or
post shall be preserved for him as determined by law. |
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| Art.90: |
Before exercising his duties, the
member of the People’s Assembly shall take the following oath before the
Assembly: " I swear by God Almighty that I shall sincerely safeguard the safety
of the nation, the republican regime, attend to the interests of the people and
shall respect the Constitution and the law". |
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| Art.91: |
The members of the People’s
Assembly shall receive a remuneration determined by law. |
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| Art.92: |
The duration of the People’s
Assembly term shall be five Gergorian years starting from the date of its first
meeting. Elections for the renewal of the Assembly shall take place within the
sixty days preceding the termination of its term. |
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| Art.93: |
The People’s Assembly shall be
competent to decide upon the validity of the membership of its members. The
Court of Cassation shall be competent to investigate the validity of
contestations on membership presented to the Assembly after referring them to
the Court by the Speaker of the Assembly. The contestation shall be referred to
the Court of Cassation within fifteen days as from the date on which the
Assembly has been informed thereof while the investigation shall be completed
within ninety days from the date on which the contestation is referred to the
Court of Cassation. The result of the investigation and the decision reached by
the Court shall be submitted to the Assembly to decide upon the validity of the
contestation within sixty days from the date of submission of the result of the
investigation to the Assembly. Memberships shall not be deemed invalid expect
by a decision taken by a majority of two-thirds of the Assembly members. |
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| Art.94: |
If the seat of a member becomes
vacant before the end of his term, a successor shall be elected or appointed to
it, within sixty days from the date of the communication to the Assembly of the
occurrence of the vacancy . The term of the new member shall extend until the
end of the term of his predecessor. |
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| Art.95: |
No member of the People’s Assembly
shall, during his term, purchase or rent any state property or sell or lease to
the state or barter with it regarding any part of his property, or conclude a
contract with the State in his capacity as entrepreneur, importer or
contractor. |
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| Art.96: |
No membership in the People’s
Assembly shall be revoked except on the grounds of loss of confidence or status
or loss of one of the conditions of membership or the loss of the member’s
status as worker or farmer upon which he was elected or the violation of his
obligations as a member. The membership shall be deemed invalid on the grounds
of a decision taken by two-thirds of the Assembly members. |
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| Art.97: |
The People’s Assembly alone may
accept the resignation of its members. |
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| Art.98: |
Members of the People’s Assembly
shall not be censured for any opinions or thoughts expressed by them in the
performance of their tasks in the Assembly or its committees. |
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| Art.99: |
Except in cases of flagrante
delicto, no member of the People’s Assembly shall be subject to a criminal
prosecution without the permission of the Assembly. If the Assembly is not in
session , the permission of the Speaker of the Assembly must be taken. The
Assembly must be notified of the measures taken in its first subsequent
session. |
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| Art.100: |
The seat of the People’s Assembly
shall be Cairo. However, the Assembly may, under exceptional circumstances,
meet in another city at the request of the President of the Republic or the
majority of the Assembly members. Any meeting of the Assembly in other than its
designated seat is illegal and the resolutions passed in it shall be considered
invalid. |
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| Art.101: |
The President of the Republic shall
convoke the People’s Assembly for its ordinary annual session before the second
Thursday of November . If it is not convoked, the Assembly shall meet by force
of the Constitution on the said date. The session of the ordinary meeting shall
continue for at least seven months. The President of the Republic shall declare
the ordinary session closed . This may not take place until the general budget
of the state is approved. |
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| Art.102: |
The President of the Republic may
call the People’s Assembly to an extraordinary session, in case of necessity,
or upon request signed by a majority of the Assembly members. The President of
the Republic shall announce the dismissal of the extraordinary session. |
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| Art.103: |
The People’s Assembly shall elect,
in the first meeting of its ordinary annual session, a Speaker and two Deputy -
Speakers for the term of the session. If the seat of anyone of them is vacated,
the Assembly shall elect a replacement, whose term will last until the end of
his predecessor’s term. |
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| Art.104: |
The People’s Assembly shall lay
down its own rules of procedure organizing the manner in which it fulfills its
tasks. |
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| Art.105: |
The People’s Assembly alone shall
be entitled to preserve order inside it. The Speaker of the Assembly shall be
entrusted with this task. |
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| Art.106: |
The meeting of the People’s
Assembly shall be public. However, a meeting in camera may be held at the
request of the President of the Republic, or the Government, or the Prime
Minister or of at least twenty of its members. The Assembly shall then decide
whether the debate on the question submitted to it shall take place in a public
meeting or in a meeting in camera. |
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| Art.107: |
The meeting of the Assembly shall
be considered invalid unless the majority of its members are present. The
Assembly shall adopt its resolutions by an absolute majority of its attending
members, in cases other than those for which a specific majority is required. A
separate vote will be taken on each article of the draft laws. In case of a tie
vote, the question on which the debate has taken place shall be rejected. |
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| Art.108: |
The President of the Republic shall
have the right, in case of necessity or in exceptional cases and on the
authorization of the People’s Assembly, to issue resolutions having the force
of law. Such authorization must be for a limited period of time and must point
out the subjects of such resolutions and the grounds upon which they are based
. The resolutions must be submitted to the People’s Assembly at its first
meeting after the end of the authorization period. If they are not submitted or
if they are submitted and not approved by the Assembly , they shall cease to
have the force of law. |
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| Art.109: |
The President of the Republic and
every member of the People’s Assembly shall have the right to propose laws. |
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| Art.110: |
Every draft law shall be referred
to one of the committees of the Assembly which will study it and submit a
report concerning it. Draft laws presented by members of the People’s Assembly
shall not be referred to these committees unless they are first referred to a
special committee which will study them and give an opinion on the suitability
of their consideration by the Assembly and after the Assembly decides to
consider them. |
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| Art.111: |
Every draft law proposed by a
member and rejected by the Assembly cannot be presented again in the course of
the same session. |
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| Art.112: |
The President of the Republic shall
have the right to promulgate laws or object to them. |
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| Art.113: |
If the President of the Republic
objects to a draft law ratified by the People’s Assembly, he shall refer it
back to the Assembly within thirty days from the Assembly’s communication of
it. If the draft law is not referred back within this period. It is considered
a law and shall be promulgated. If it is referred back to the Assembly on the
said date and approved once again by a majority of two-thirds of the members,
it shall be considered a law and shall be promulgated. |
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| Art.114: |
The People’s Assembly shall approve
the general plan for economic and social development. The manner of the
preparation of the plan and of its submission to the People’s Assembly shall be
determined by law. |
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| Art.115: |
The draft general budget of the
State shall be submitted to the Assembly at least two months before the
beginning of the fiscal year. It shall not be considered in effect unless it is
approved by the Assembly. Each chapter of the draft budget shall be voted upon
separately and shall be promulgated by law. The People’s Assembly shall not
make modifications in the draft budget except with the approval of the
government. In case the ratification of the new budget does not take place
before the beginning of the new fiscal year, the old budget shall be acted on
pending such ratification. The law shall determine the manner of preparing the
budget and determine the fiscal year. |
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| Art.116: |
The approval of the People’s
Assembly shall be considered necessary for the transfer of any funds from one
title of the budget to another, as well as for any expenditure not included in
it or in excess of its estimates. These shall be issued by law. |
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| Art.117: |
The law shall determine the
provisions regulating the budgets and accounts of public organizations and
institutions. |
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| Art.118: |
The final account of the State
budget shall be submitted to the People’s Assembly within a period not
exceeding one year from the date of the expiration of the fiscal year. Each
title shall be voted upon separately and issued by a law. The annual report of
the Central Agency for Accounting and its observations must be submitted to the
People’s Assembly. The Assembly has the right to demand from the Central Agency
for Accounting any data or other pertinent reports. |
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| Art.119: |
The imposition, modification or
abolition of general taxes cannot be effected except in the cases decreed by
law. No one may be exempted from their payment except in the cases specified by
law.No one may be asked to pay additional taxes or imposts except in the cases
specified by law. |
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| Art.120: |
The basic rules for collection of
public funds and the procedure for their disbursement shall be regulated by
law. |
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| Art.121: |
The Executive Authority shall not
contract a loan, or bind itself to a project entailing expenditure of public
funds from the State Treasury in the course of a subsequent period, except with
the approval of the People’s Assembly. |
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| Art.122: |
The rules governing the granting of
salaries, pensions, indemnities, subsidies and bonuses from the State treasury,
as well as the cases excepted from these rules and the authorities charged with
their application, shall be determined by law. |
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| Art.123: |
The law shall determine the rules
and procedures for granting concessions related to the investment of natural
resources and public utilities. It shall also define cases where it is
permitted to dispose free of charge, of real estate property belonging to the
State and the ceding of its movable property and the rules and regulations
organizing such procedures. |
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| Art.124: |
Every member of the People’s
Assembly shall be entitled to address questions to the Prime Minister or to any
of his deputies or the Ministers or their deputies concerning matters within
their jurisdiction. The Prime Minister, his deputies, the Ministers and the
persons they delegate on their behalf shall answer the questions put to them by
members. The member may withdraw his question at any time; this same question
may not be transformed into an interpellation in the same session. |
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| Art.125: |
Every member of the People’s
Assembly shall be entitled to address interpellations to the Prime Minster or
his deputies or the Ministers and their deputies concerning matters within
their jurisdiction. Debate on an interpellation shall take place at least seven
days after its submission, except in the cases of urgency as decided by the
Assembly and with the Government’s consent. |
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| Art.126: |
The Minister shall be responsible
for the general policy of the State before the People’s Assembly. Each minister
shall be responsible for the affairs of his ministry. The People’s Assembly may
decide to withdraw its confidence from any of the Prime Minister’s deputies or
from any of the Ministers or their deputies. A motion of no confidence should
not be submitted except after an interpellation, and upon a motion proposed by
one tenth the members of the Assembly. The Assembly shall not decide on such a
motion until after at least three days from the date of its presentation.
Withdrawal of confidence shall be pronounced by the majority of the members of
the Assembly. |
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| Art.127: |
The People’s Assembly shall
determine the responsibility of the Prime Minister, on a proposal by one-tenth
of its members. Such a decision should be taken by the majority of the members
of the Assembly. It may not be taken except after an interpellation addressed
to the Government and after at least three days from the date of its
presentation. In the event that such responsibility is determined, the Assembly
shall submit a report to the President of the Republic including the elements
of the subject, the conclusions reached on the matter and the reasons behind
them. The President of the Republic may return such a report to the Assembly
within ten days. If the Assembly ratifies it once again, the President of the
Republic may put the subject of discord to a referendum. Such a referendum
shall be held within thirty days from the date of the last ratification of the
Assembly. In such a case the Assembly sessions shall be terminated. If the
result of the referendum is in support of the Government, the Assembly shall be
considered dissolved, otherwise, the President of the Republic shall accept the
resignation of the Cabinet. |
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| Art.128: |
If the Assembly withdraws its
confidence from any of the Prime Minister’s deputies or the Ministers or their
deputies, he shall resign his office. The Prime Minister shall submit his
resignation to the President of the Republic if he is found responsible before
the People’s Assembly. |
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| Art.129: |
Any twenty members at least, of the
People’s Assembly may ask for the discussion of a public question to ascertain
the Government’s policy regarding such a question. |
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| Art.130: |
The members of the People’s
Assembly shall be entitled to express their opinions concerning public
questions before the Prime Minister or any of his deputies or of the Ministers. |
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| Art.131: |
The People’s Assembly may form an
ad hoc Committee or entrust any of its committees with the inspection of the
activities of any of the administrative departments or the general
establishments or any executive or administrative organ or any of the public
projects, for the purpose of fact - finding and informing the Assembly as to
the actual financial, or administrative or economic situation thereof, or for
conducting investigations into a subject related to one of the said activities.
In the course of its work, such a committee shall be entitled to collect
whatever evidence it deems necessary and to subpoena all those it needs. All
executive and administrative bodies shall answer the demands of the committee
and put under its disposal all the documents and evidence it demands for this
purpose. |
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| Art.132: |
At the inaugural meeting of the
ordinary session of the People’s Assembly, the President of the Republic shall
deliver a statement of the general policy of the State. He may also make other
statements before the Assembly. The Assembly is entitled to discuss the
statement of the President of the Republic. |
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| Art.133: |
After the formation of the Cabinet
and at the inaugural meeting of the ordinary session of the People’s Assembly,
the Prime Minister shall submit the programme of his Government. The People’s
Assembly is entitled to discuss such a programme. |
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| Art.134: |
The Prime Minister, his deputies,
the Ministers and their deputies may become members of the People’s Assembly.
Those of them who are not members may attend the sessions and committee
meetings of the Assembly. |
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| Art.135: |
The Prime Minister and the
Ministers shall have the right to be heard in the Assembly sessions and
committee meetings whenever they ask for the floor. They may ask for the
assistance of the highranking officials of their choice. When taking votes a
minister shall have no counted vote unless he is a member. |
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| Art.136: |
The President of the Republic shall
not dissolve the People’s Assembly unless it is necessary and after a
referendum of the People. In such a case, the President of the Republic shall
issue a decision terminating the sessions of the Assembly and conducting a
referendum within thirty days. If the total majority of the voters approve the
dissolution of the Assembly, the President of the Republic shall issue the
decision of dissolution. The decision dissolving the Assembly shall comprise an
invitation to the electors to conduct new elections for the People’s Assembly
within a period not exceeding sixty days from the date of the declaration of
the referendum results. The new Assembly shall convene during a period of ten
days following the completion of elections. |
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