Egypt’s House limits pretrial detention periods, approve alternatives

CAIRO – 13 January 2025: Egypt’s House of Representatives approved, Monday, Article 123 of the draft Criminal Procedures Law, which specifies the periods of pretrial detention, so that it may not exceed four months in the preliminary investigation phase in misdemeanors, and twelve months in felonies.

The House also approved Article 113 of the Draft Code of Criminal Procedure which states other alternatives to the pretrial detention, including:

1- Obligating the accused not to leave his residence.

2- Obligating the accused to present himself to the police station at specific times.

3- Prohibiting the accused from frequenting specific places.

The article approved by the House stipulates that the period of pretrial detention or measure may not exceed three months in misdemeanor cases unless the accused has been notified of his referral to the competent court before the end of this period. In this case, the Public Prosecution must present the detention or measure order within five days at most from the date of notification of referral to the competent court in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 132 of this law to implement the requirements of these provisions, otherwise the accused must be released or the measure must be terminated, as the case may be.

In all cases, the period of pretrial detention during the preliminary investigation stage and all other stages of the criminal case may not exceed one-third of the maximum custodial sentence, so that it does not exceed four months in misdemeanors, twelve months in felonies, and eighteen months if the penalty prescribed for the crime is life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, said that this article is one of the most important articles and is consistent with the outcomes of the national dialogue adopted by President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, adding, “I extend my thanks for setting a maximum limit for pretrial detention periods, and this is among the many and numerous advantages of this draft law.”

Counselor Adnan Fangri, Minister of Justice, also said that this article is ‘very disciplined’ regarding the maximum periods of detention in misdemeanors and felonies, and it is a major advantage for the accused as a guarantee.

The Council also approved Article 114, which reads that, “If the accused violates the measure prescribed for in accordance with Article 113 of this law, the Public Prosecution member may replace the alternative measures with pretrial detention.”