Society
People of Determination in Constitution and Law
Thursday، 19 December 2019 - 12:12 PM
Law No 10 of 2018 defined persons with disabilities in Article 2 as: “A person with a disability is any person who has a full or partial disorder or impairment for a long-term be it physical, mental, intellectual or sensory; if this disorder or impairment is stable; and which in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with the others”.
The latest official statistics issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics indicate that the number of persons with disabilities is 10.64% of the total population.
2014 Egyptian constitution stated in article (93) that: “The state is committed to the agreements, covenants, and international conventions of human rights that were ratified by Egypt. They have the force of law after publication in accordance with the specified circumstances.
The Egyptian constitution also affirms all rights and duties towards persons with disabilities in accordance with some articles of the constitution (53, 54, 55, 80, 81, 180, 214, 244).
All Egyptian laws took into account the principle of equality of mothers and women with disabilities with others without disabilities, granting them equal rights.
For example, legislation, especially the Egyptian Child Law No. 12 of 1996 and its amendments, did not provide for depriving a mother with a disability of Child custody right.
Law No. (10) of 2018 about the Rights of People of Determination
It was issued on February 19, 2018, and consists of (58) articles that include all the rights assigned to them without discrimination or isolation, but on an equal basis with others according to their conditions and capabilities.
This law was prepared based on the definition of disability and the rights contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and it was discussed in Parliament and approved after being presented for community dialogue and the opinion of the National Council for Disability Affairs was taken.
Law No. (10) of 2018 included in its fourth article the general principles established in the agreement, including:
- Non-discrimination on the basis of disability, type of disability or gender of persons with disabilities, ensuring effective equality in terms of enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields.
- Accommodate the proper conditions for them for a decent life in terms of all the respect of human dignity.
- Accommodate the conditions and respect differences and accepting persons with disabilities as part of human diversity.
- Respect the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and their right to preserve their identity and express their views freely on all relevant matters, with due consideration of their views according to their age and maturity on an equal basis with other children; in addition to providing information and helping them to enjoy this right in accordance to their disability and age.
- Respect their freedom to make their own choices of their own will.
Persons with disabilities and their families shall have the right to access all relevant information from all agencies and public associations and organizations in accordance with the governing law.
Enable persons with disabilities to participate in public affairs on an equal basis with other persons and encourage their participation in the formulation of policies and programs
Provide a safe environment for persons with disabilities, and protect them from being subjected to economic, political or commercial exploitation, violence, torture, abuse, negligence, humiliating treatment.
Integrate all policies and programs which ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Egyptian Constitution also guarantees equality before law in public rights and duties and equal opportunities for all citizens, men and women without discrimination. Article (11) stated: “The state commits to achieving equality between women and men in all civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
The state commits to taking the necessary measures to ensure appropriate representation of women in the houses of parliament, in the manner specified by law.
It grants women the right to hold public posts and high management posts in the state, and to appointment in judicial bodies and entities without discrimination.
The state commits to the protection of women against all forms of violence, and ensures women empowerment to reconcile the duties of a woman toward her family and her work requirements.
The state ensures care and protection and care for motherhood and childhood, and for breadwinning, and elderly women, and women most in need
Children of determination
Egypt has been keen on providing care for children, as Article (80) of the constitution stipulates, “Children have the right to be named and possess identification papers, have access to free compulsory vaccinations, health and family care or an alternative, basic nutrition, safe shelter, religious education, and emotional and cognitive development”.
The state guarantees the rights of children who have disabilities, and ensures their rehabilitation and incorporation into society.
The state shall care for children and protect them from all forms of violence, abuse, mistreatment and commercial and sexual exploitation.
Law No. (10) of 2018 on Persons with Disabilities also included protection for children with disabilities, Article 4 of it included: “The State shall protect the rights of persons with disabilities stipulated in this Law or in any other laws, particularly the following rights: “Respect the evolving capacities of children with 16 LAW ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES disabilities and their right to preserve their identity and express their views freely on all relevant matters, with due consideration of their views according to their age and maturity on an equal basis with other children; and provide information and help them exercise this right appropriately with their disability and age.”
Here are the most important articles of the constitution and the law relating to people of determination:
First: people of Determination in Constitution:
(9) Articles related to people with disabilities in the Egyptian Constitution of 2014.
Article No. (53) Non-discrimination because of disability
Article No. (54) Legal assistance for people with disabilities
Article No. (55) Availability of places of detention and imprisonment for people with disabilities
Article No. (80) Rights of Children with Disabilities
Article No. (81) Specialized Article for Persons with Disabilities
Article No. (93) Article of International Agreements
Article No. (180) The percentage of seats in local councils for people with disabilities.
Article No. (214) The National Council for Disability Affairs and Independent Councils
Article No. (244) Representation in the House of Representatives for People with Disabilities.
Article 53: Equality in public rights and duties
Citizens are equal before the law, possess equal rights and public duties, and may not be discriminated against on the basis of religion, belief, sex, origin, race, color, language, disability, social class, political or geographical affiliation, or for any other reason.
Discrimination and incitement to hate are crimes punishable by law.
The state shall take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination, and the law shall regulate the establishment of an independent commission for this purpose.
Article 54: Personal freedom
Personal freedom is a natural right which is safeguarded and cannot be infringed upon. Except in cases of in flagrante delicto, citizens may only be apprehended, searched, arrested, or have their freedoms restricted by a causal judicial warrant necessitated by an investigation.
All those whose freedoms have been restricted shall be immediately informed of the causes therefor, notified of their rights in writing, be allowed to immediately contact their family and lawyer, and be brought before the investigating authority within twenty-four hours of their freedoms having been restricted.
Questioning of the person may only begin once his lawyer is present. If he has no lawyer, a lawyer will be appointed for him. Those with disabilities shall be provided all necessary aid, according to procedures stipulated in the law.
Those who have their freedom restricted and others possess the right of recourse before the judiciary. Judgment must be rendered within a week from such recourse, otherwise the petitioner shall be immediately released.
The law shall regulate preventive detention, its duration, causes, and which cases are eligible for compensation that the state shall discharge for preventative detention or for execution of a penalty that had been executed by virtue of a judgment that is overruled by a final judgment. • Protection from false imprisonment In all cases, the accused may be brought to criminal trial for crimes that he may be detained for only in the presence of an authorized or appointed lawyer.
Article 55
Due process All those who are apprehended, detained or have their freedom restricted shall be treated in a way that preserves their dignity. They may not be tortured, terrorized, or coerced. They may not be physically or mentally harmed, or arrested and confined in designated locations that are appropriate according to humanitarian and health standards. The state shall provide means of access for those with disabilities.
Any violation of the above is a crime and the perpetrator shall be punished under the law.
The accused possesses the right to remain silent. Any statement that is proven to have been given by the detainee under pressure of any of that which is stated above, or the threat of such, shall be considered null and void.
Article 80
Rights of the child A child is considered to be anyone who has not reached 18 years of age. Children have the right to be named and possess identification papers, have access to free compulsory vaccinations, health and family care or an alternative, basic nutrition, safe shelter, religious education, and emotional and cognitive development.
The state guarantees the rights of children who have disabilities, and ensures their rehabilitation and incorporation into society.
The state shall care for children and protect them from all forms of violence, abuse, mistreatment and commercial and sexual exploitation.
Every child is entitled to early education in a childhood center until the age of six. It is prohibited to employ children before they reach the age of having completed their primary education, and it is prohibited to employ them in jobs that expose them to risk.
The state shall establish a judicial system for child victims and witnesses. No child may be held criminally responsible or detained except in accordance with the law and the time frame specified therein. Legal aid shall be provided to children, and they shall be detained in appropriate locations separate from adult detention centers.
The state shall work to achieve children’s best interest in all measures taken with regards to them.
Article 81: Rights of the disabled
The state shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural, entertainment, sporting and education rights of dwarves and people with disabilities. The state shall provide work opportunities for such individuals, and allocate a percentage of these opportunities to them, in addition to equipping public utilities and their surrounding environment. The state guarantees their right to exercise political rights, and their integration with other citizens in order to achieve the principles of equality, justice and equal opportunities.
Article 93: International agreements and conventions
The state is committed to the agreements, covenants, and international conventions of human rights that were ratified by Egypt. They have the force of law after publication in accordance with the specified circumstances.
Article 180: Election of local councils
Every local unit elects a local council by direct, secret ballot for a term of four years. A candidate must be no younger than 21 years old. The law regulates other conditions for candidacy and procedures of election, provided that one quarter of the seats are allocated to youth under 35 years old, one quarter is allocated for women, workers and farmers are represented by no less than 50 percent of the total number of seats, and these percentages include a proper representation of Christians and people with disability.
Local councils are responsible for developing and implementing the development plan, monitoring the activity’s different aspects, exercising the tools of monitoring the executive authority such as proposals, and submitting questions, briefing motions, interpellations and others, and withdrawing confidence from the heads of local units, in the manner organized by law.
The law defines the mandate of other local councils, their financial sources, guarantees of its members, and their independence.
Article 214: National Councils
The law specifies independent national councils including the National Council for Human Rights, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and the National Council for Persons with Disability. The law sets out their structures, mandates, and guarantees for the independence and neutrality of their members. They have the right to report to the public authorities any violations pertaining to their fields of work. These councils have legal personalities and enjoy technical, financial, and administrative independence. They are to be consulted with regards to draft laws and regulations pertaining to their affairs and fields of work.
Article 244: Representation for youth, Christians, disabled persons, etc
The state grants youth, Christians, persons with disability and expatriate Egyptians appropriate representation in the first House of Representatives to be elected after this Constitution is adopted, in the manner specified by law.
Law No. 39 of 1975 regarding the rehabilitation of the disabled
The law included a set of articles on the rehabilitation of the disabled in the Official Gazette on July 3, 1975, No. 27.
This law came as a compilation of the diaspora of a set of texts that were dispersed before its issuance in Laws Numbers; 91 for 1959, 63 for 1964, 133 for 1964, 58 for 1971, 61 for 1971. The following is a presentation of the most important articles that serve the disabled:
Article (1)
“The provisions of the law shall be applied to all persons with disabilities who hold the Egyptian nationality’.
Article (2)
A Disabled person is any person who has become unable to depend on himself in the performance of his work or other work and stability in it, and his ability to do so due to organic, mental, sensory or congenital disability since birth.
Rehabilitation of a disabled person means provision of social, psychological, medical, educational and vocational services that he/she needs to overcome effects of their disability.
Article (9)
Employers who have 50 laborers or more in the private sector must use 5% of the total number of labor force in the unit. the employer is obliged to employ a Percentage of disabled persons (5%) either with workforce recommendation or without it on the condition of getting Social Rehabilitation certificate.
Article (10)
Disabled persons who got Social Rehabilitation certificates, have the right to get 5% of the total level three vacancies in the administrative apparatus of the State, public authorities, and economic units.
Article (11)
Minister of Social Affairs may, after agreement with the competent minister, issue a decision to allocate certain jobs in the administrative apparatus of the State, public bodies, public institutions and economic units affiliated to it, for special needs persons with qualification certificates within the limits indicated in the previous article.
Article (16)
anyone who violates article 9 shall be subjected to a fine not exceeding thirty pounds and imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month or one of these two penalties
Ministerial Resolution No. 259 on May 20, 1976, the executive regulations of Law No. 39 of 1975 regarding the rehabilitation of the disabled. This decision includes 20 articles, regarding the services provided by the state to the disabled, such as physical therapy and prosthetic devices.
Law No. 49 of 1982 amending Law No. 39 of 1975 regarding the rehabilitation of the disabled.
Law No. 49 of 1982 amended Articles 9, 10, 15, 16 of the Rehabilitation of the Disabled Law No. 39 of 1975. This law replaces Articles 9, 10, 15, 16.
Civil law
Article 44: All persons attaining majority in possession of their mental faculties and not under legal disability, have full legal capacity to exercise their civil rights.
Article 45: A person devoid of discretion, owing to youth, feeble mindedness or insanity is incapable of exercising his civil rights.
Article 46: A person who has reached the age of discretion but has not attained majority and a person who has attained his majority but is a prodigal or an imbecile, has a limited legal capacity according to the provisions of the law.
Article 47: Persons deprived of full or partial legal capacity are governed, as the case may be, by the rules of natural or legal guardianship or curatorship subject to the conditions and in accordance with the rules laid down by law.
Article 90/1: Expressing the will is verbally, in writing and with the commonly used sign.
Article 113: The insane, the lunatic, the negligent, and the foolish are prohibited by the court, and the ban is lifted from them, in accordance with the rules and procedures established by law.
Article 114/1: The behavior of the insane and the lunatic is void, and if the act is issued after the decision of interdiction.
Article 114/2 If the act was issued prior to the registration of the interdiction decision, it is not void unless the state of insanity or dementia was common at the time of the contract, or the other part was aware of it.
Article 116/1: The behavior of the person interdicted due to negligence, by endowment or will, shall be valid, if the court authorizes him to do so.
Article 116/2: The actions of the administration issued by the interdict, due to the foolishness of the person authorized to receive his money, are valid within the limits set by the law.
Article 117/1: If a person is deaf-mute, deaf-blind, or dumb-blind, and because of that he is unable to express his will, the court may appoint a judicial assistant to assist him in the actions in which his interest dictates that.
Article 117/2: Every act in which legal aid was decided upon is voidable, when the person for whom it was decided to legally aid him without the assistance of the assistant, the act after registering the decision of aid.
Article 118: The actions of parents, guardians are valid within the limits set by law.
Article 173/1: Whoever is obliged, by law or agreement, to supervise a person in need of supervision because of his shortness or because of his mental or physical condition, shall be obligated to compensate the harm that that person causes to others by his illegal act.
Regulation of the Exercise of Political Rights Law No 45 of 2014
The casting of votes by the voter in election or referendums shall be by marking the ballot intended for that purpose. The Chairperson of the Sub-Committee must ascertain the identity of the voters himself/herself, after which he/she shall hand them the ballot or ballots specified by HEC subject to the electoral system or the subject of the referendum.
Law no. 46 / 2014 on the House of Representatives
Article 2: For the purposes of applying the provisions of this law, the following designations shall be defined as indicated against each: Citizen with Disability: A person suffering from a disability which does not prevent him/her from exercising his/her civil and political rights, as per a medical report issued in accordance with the terms and regulations established by the High Elections Committee, upon consulting the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
Article 5: Each electoral list must include a number of candidates equal to the number to be elected for the constituency as well as an equal number of substitutes.
In the first elections of the House of Representatives following the entry into force of this law, each list for which 15 seats are allocated must at least include the following numbers and designations:
Three candidates who are Christian.
Two candidates who are workers or farmers.
Two candidates who are youths.
A candidate who is a person with a disability.
A candidate who is an Egyptian residing abroad.
Provided that the candidates with the above-listed designations along with other candidates include no less than seven women.
Each list for which 45 seats are allocated must at least include the following numbers and designations:
Nine candidates who are Christian.
Nine candidates who are workers or farmers.
Six candidates who are youths.
Three candidates who are persons with disabilities.
Three candidates who are Egyptians residing abroad.
Provided that the candidates with the above-listed designations along with other candidates include no less than twenty-one women.
In all cases, substitute candidates must meet the same requirements with regard to numbers and designations. Any list which does not fulfill the terms and conditions referred to in this article will not be admitted.
A single list may include candidates from more than one party, and a list may also be composed of independent non-partisan candidates, or of a combination of both partisan and non-partisan candidates.
In all cases, the name of the party or the independent nature of a candidate within one list must be made known in the candidacy papers.
Law No. 186 of 1986 regarding customs exemptions.
Article 9 of customs exemption for people with disabilities in Law No. 186 of 1986 regarding customs exemptions.
Article 2: objects and small passenger cars equipped with medical equipment exempted from customs taxes and on condition of inspection, It is prohibited to dispose of exempted cars in any kind of legal behavior within five years from the date of their release from customs, unless customs duties and other taxes and fees that have been exempted have been paid.
Article 3 Paragraph (A) of Clause (3) is replaced by Law No. 7 of 1997: It is exempted from customs duties and on the condition of inspection:
The tools, equipment, machinery and means of transportation (except for passenger cars and furniture) that are imported by establishments licensed to operate in the free zones, that are necessary to carry out their activities within the free zone, without prejudice to other provisions stipulated in Articles 36 and 37 of the Investment Law Arab and foreign money and free zones, promulgated by Law No. 43 of 1974.
Small passenger cars with four cylinders or less, or one motorized bike, provided that they are equipped with special medical equipment and are intended for personal use, for those who are injured members of the armed forces and their civilian workers, who were injured or injured in military operations, or in one of the cases referred to in Article 31 of the Armed Forces Retirement, Insurance and Pension Law promulgated by Law No. 90 of 1975.
social rehabilitation
Law No. 39 of 1975 was issued regarding the rehabilitation of the disabled.
Ministerial Resolution No. 259 of 1976 was issued regarding the executive regulations of Law No. 39 of 1975.
Ministerial Resolution No. 583 of 1976 was issued to establish the institutes, institutions and bodies necessary to provide rehabilitation services for the disabled.
Ministerial Resolution No. 598 of 1976 was issued to amend some provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. 259 of 1976 regarding the validity period of prosthetic devices.
Amended Law No. 49 of 1982.
Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 1982 amending some provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. 259 of 1976 with regard to physical therapy.
The decision of Health Minister No. 133 of 1983 regarding the provisions of health fitness in terms of vision is guided by the appointment of jobs.
Ministerial Resolution No. 135 of 1984 defining the jobs that are allocated to the qualified disabled.
Ministerial Resolution No. 224 of 1986 forming the Higher Committee for Celebrating the Day of the Disabled.
Ministerial Resolution No. 50 of 1988 regarding the regulation of the work system for intellectual education institutions.
Ministerial Resolution No. 215 of 1988 regarding the regulation of the work system for comprehensive rehabilitation centers.
Ministerial Resolution No. 231 of 1990 appointing holders of educational qualifications within the mandatory percentage.
Ministerial Resolution No. 40 of 1997 regarding the executive regulations for work in physiotherapy centers.
Ministerial Resolution No. 138 of 1998 regarding the executive work regulations for rehabilitation offices.
Ministerial Resolution No. 49 of 1999 regarding certificates of rehabilitation of the disabled.
Ministerial Resolution No. 60 of 1999 regarding cases of Mediterranean anemia and sickle cell anemia.
Ministerial Resolution No. 98 of 2006 regarding the work system for nurseries for disabled children.
Ministerial Resolution No. 42 of 2015 regarding the educational inclusion of people with disabilities.
The new civil service law
Article 13: A decision of the Prime Minister determines the jobs that are reserved for the injured in military operations, veterans, security operations casualties, people with disabilities and dwarves, whenever their condition allows them to carry out their work, in accordance with the rules determined by this decision, with no less than 5% of the number of jobs of the unit.
Leaves: Article (45) reduces the number of daily working hours by one hour for an employee with a disability.
Article (48) An employee with a disability has a regular annual leave of forty-five days, without being restricted to the number of years of service.
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