Egypt

1. 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 recruited, 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 examining 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 Supreme 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.

2. Jurisdictional attributions and advice

2.1. Court functions

Jurisdiction:

The Council of State is competent to try any administrative case. Its juridiction includes the litigations concerning disciplinary measures in the civil service and any other matter as defined 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 litigation of the Council of State has competence for all the ordinary administrative and disciplinary disputes. 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 from one jurisdiction to another in regard of the general interest; he resolves the eventual conflicts between the jurisdictions 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 distribute amongst themselves 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 jurisdiction as judges of appeal, the courts of administrative litigations try, in first resort, any other case. There are five courts of administrative litigation: one in Cairo and the four other ones in the principle regions of Egypt.

The State commissioners, 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.

2.2. Advisory functions

Existence and extent of an advisory authority:

The advisory function of the Council of State 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 opinion 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.