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Composition
and structure
Number of
members :
In total, 1700 members of different ranks and titles.
3000 civil servants, including 1200 working in the section of litigation.
Recruitment
procedures and incompatibilities :
According
to section 172 of the Constitution of 1971, "the Council of State
is an independent judicial organism ".
The candidates are recruted, in regard of their academic titles
and an interview, by a jury composed of the President of Council
and several members. They need to have a degree in law, with the
distinction " very good " or " excellent ".
Internal
organization :
The Council of State is subdivided into three sections : the section
of litigations, the section of consultative advices, the section
of legislation.
The section of litigation regroups the Supreme administrative Court,
the Chamber charged with the unification of judicial principles
and the Chamber of political parties.
The Supreme Administrative court has its seat in Cairo and is presided
by the president of the State Council. It is subdivided into nine
chambers:
1) The first chamber is concerned with disputes related to rights
and public liberties (chairperson: the president of the council).
2) The second chamber is concerned with disputes related to Personnel
affairs.
3) The chamber of agrarian reforms.
4) The disciplinary chamber.
5) The fifth chamber is concerned with appeals related to construction
licenses and building planning . It is specialized in disciplining
civil servants that are not submissive to the law of governmental
civil servants.
6) The sixth chamber is concerned with examming appeals of disputes
related to students in all stages of education.
7) The seventh chamber examines conflicts related to personnel affairs
that are subject to special regulations of law and the conflicts
related to the members of judicial organizations.
8) The eighth chamber is concerned with appeals of disputes related
to monetary rights of the civil servants.
9) The ninth chamber is concerned with disputes related to remuneration
for the state officials' annual vacations.
The three last
being chaired by the Vice-president of the Council. Each chamber
is composed of two committees : a chamber of requests which selects,
in a public session, the suits and rejects about 60 to 80 % of them,
by a decision that is not motivated ; a chamber of judgment which
tries the selected cases.
The chamber of unification of judicial principles, chaired by the
President of the State Council and of the Suprme administrative
Court, is composed of eleven councillors of State, elected every
year by the general assembly of the Supreme administrative Court,
settles the conflicts which may arise between the jurisprudences
of the different jurisdictional chambers.
The chamber
of political parties is made up of five councillors of State and
five personnalities chosen by the Supreme Council of egyptian judicial
organizations.
The section of litigations also comprises the courts of administrative
litigations, the administrative tribunals, the disciplinary jurisdictions
and the corporation of the State Commissioners.
The section of advice and the section of legislation may meet together,
in a general assembly, under the direction of the President or the
Vice-president of the Council of State..
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Court
functions
Jurisdiction
:
The Council of State is competent to try any administrative case.
Its juridictions includes the litigations concerning disciplinary
measures in the civil service and any other matter as definde by
the law. In this regard, the chamber of political parties is competent
to judge the suits against the administrative decisions of the Committee
of political parties when refusing the creation of a party or when
settling a dispute concerning a political party.
Organization
of the courts system :
The section of litigations of the Council of State regroups all
the ordinary administrative and disciplinary jurisidictions. The
right to appeal is always respected although the proceedings are
very different notwithstanding the unity of the judicial system
placed under the direction of one person : the President of the
Council of State. The latter disposes of a large power of organization
: he may transfer a judge form one jurisdiction to another in regard
of the general interest ; he resolves the eventual conflicts between
the juridictions of the same level ; he may create new chambers
in the courts of administrative litigations and new administrative
tribunals.
The competence of the administrative tribunals is closely delimited
by two rules : they only deal with cases involving the civil service,
except all disciplinary affairs and those concerning the agents
of the superior administration. It exists eleven administrative
tribunals, of which six are in Cairo ; they distribue amongst themself
in regard of the administration involved in the suit. There may
be appeal against the judgments of the administrative tribunals
before the courts of administrative litigations. The disciplinary
cases of the civil service are referred to special courts whose
decisions may be challenged, in second instance, before the courts
of administrative litigations.
Apart their
jurisidiction as judges of appeal, the courts of administrative
litigations try, in first resort, any other case. There are five
courts of administrative lititgations : one in Cairo and the four
other ones in the principle regions of Egypt.
The State commissioner, which are present in every jurisdiction
except in the disciplinary courts, are charged to instruct the cases
and to prepare them for judgment. They may also try to find a compromise
between the parties.
Powers of
the judge (annulment, reversal, compensation, etc.) :
The judge may annul administrative acts and oblige the administration
to pay a compensation.
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Advisory
functions :
Existence
and extent of an advisory authority :
The advisory function of the council of Statre is exercised
by the section of advices and the section of legislation.
The section of advices analyses questions submitted by the ministers
and the superior administrators of the government and of the public
economy. The demand is instructed by one of the fourteen specialized
departments which either expresses the official oppinion of the
Council or seizes one of the three advice committees chaired by
a Vice-president of the Council. The issue may even be transmitted
to the general assembly.
Every bill has to be submitted to the section of legislation for
advice.
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