The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed serious concern on Monday over Egypt’s newly approved draft Code of Criminal Procedure, citing potential violations of international human rights laws.
The draft law was recently passed by Egypt’s House of Representatives and currently awaits President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s approval. The new law will grant public prosecutors sweeping discretionary powers, including over pretrial detention, communication surveillance, and travel restrictions. According to OHCHR, the provisions could undermine the right to effective legal representation and weaken accountability mechanisms for law enforcement and public officials.
UN officials also noted that last-minute amendments were reportedly added to the bill prior to its submission to the president, yet the changes have not been made public. This lack of transparency has raised the alarm among human rights experts over the legislative process and public scrutiny.
In its statement, OHCHR called on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to carefully review the proposed law in light of Egypt’s international human rights obligations before approving it.
Egypt’s proposed criminal code has drawn criticism from human rights groups worldwide. In October 2024, a coalition of organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists, urged the Egyptian parliament to reject the draft law. All have warned that the bill would further entrench systemic rights abuses by preserving and potentially expanding prosecutorial powers to detain individuals without due process or judicial oversight.
While the Egyptian government claims that the bill emerged from the 2023 National Dialogue—a series of consultations with political and civil society actors—rights advocates argue that the drafting process lacked meaningful public discourse. Critics have also argued against clauses allowing prosecutors to question suspects without counsel present, and those permitting prolonged pretrial detention of detainees through a practice called “rotation”—charging detainees repeatedly under new cases to keep them in custody indefinitely.
Human Rights Watch further cautioned that the proposed law does little to address long-standing issues plaguing Egypt’s justice system, such as politically motivated prosecutions and executive influence over the judiciary. The organization added that the proposed framework risks further eroding due process and detainee rights, particularly those of journalists, activists, and dissidents.
