Saturday, December 15, 2012

الدستور المصري الجديد

i've been trying to find a copy of the draft egyptian constitution--the one that is being voted on in a referendum held today and next weekend. i found this english translation, but i'm not positive it is the current version. the translation i found does not seem to be the same version analyzed in this report from human rights watch (e.g. HRW says "Article 30 now states that, 'Citizens are equal before the law and equal in rights and obligations without discrimination'", but article 30 in the above-linked translation doesn't have anything like that language and is instead about whether "sequestration of property" is permitted when done by private or public parties). the language in the translation i found also does not correspond to the provisions cited in the BBC's side-by-side comparison of the old and new constitution.

does anyone know where to find the right draft? i would even take an arabic version if you know where to find one. i have found some arabic versions online, but the number of articles in those drafts constitutions do not correspond with each other, or the number in the english translation behind the above link. unfortunately, my arabic is too rusty to sort out which is which.

they really should release constitutions with version numbers. ("دستور ١٠،٠")