New Press law suspended due to unconstitutional articles

CAIRO – 30 November 2017: The discussion of a Press "Organizational Law" in the parliament is postponed for a month after the Media, Culture and Antiquities Committee asked the government to reform some “unconstitutional” Articles in the Draft Law. Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on June 3 that Article 52 of the Press "Organizational Law" that passed in December is unconstitutional.

The section restricts individuals from launching newspapers that are not affiliated with a Political Party, news syndicate, or association. Individuals must partner with a company, and the company's shareholders must be Egyptians.The Egyptian Constitution, however, states, “Newspapers may be issued once notification is given as regulated by Law.”

The head of the Media, Culture and Antiquities Committee Osama Heikal, set a time limit of a month for the government to reform the five articles that suspended the discussion of the Law in the Parliament, namely Articles 50, 51, 52, 53, and 36.

He stated that the committee wants to adopt the draft law based on constitutional grounds, pointing out that the committee has extensively discussed the issue.
Parliamentarian Mustafa Bakri stated that the Committee discussed the Law in the presence of Representatives of the Government and legal experts.

He pointed out that, “The committee seeks to establish a new law, regulating the work of the press and media and contribute to the elimination of the problems which this vital sector is face with. Therefore, we have to review the Articles of the Law rigorously to achieve the interests of citizens and maintain the media’s professionalism.”