Saturday's ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) branding Article 10 of the law regulating peaceful protests as unconstitutional had been long awaited by political forces and rights groups. The annulled article gave the Interior Ministry the authority to ban any protest it deemed a threat to public order. Now Article 10 has been struck down as the Interior Ministry must first secure a court order before halting protests, meaning it will have to convince the judges that any planned protest represents a clear threat to security. “The SCC ruling has restored things to their normal course. It foregrounds citizens' right to protest, a right guaranteed by the constitution,” says constitutional expert Nour Farahat. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by leading rights lawyer Khaled Ali in which he petitioned for articles 8 and 10 of the protest law to be annulled on the grounds that they violated the constitution. Article 8, which stipulates the authorities be notified at least 15 days in advance of any planned protest, was upheld by the SCC. On the same day the SCC quashed a second appeal contesting the constitutionality of articles 7 and 19 of the controversial law. Article 7 criminalises participation in any protest that threatens security, obstructs traffic or otherwise prevents members of the public going about their business. Article 19 imposes jail sentences of no less than two years and/or a fine of no less than LE 50,000 against whoever violates Article 7. The second ruling overturned August's advisory report by the SCC Commissioners Authority which argued articles 7 and 19 were unconstitutional. The report argued that the phrasing of Article 7 was too vague and the penalties imposed by Article 19 too severe. Activists had hoped the SCC would take into account the Commissioners Authority's recommendations and drop the two articles, thus offering legal cover for the release of hundreds of people charged with violating the protest law. “None of the young people imprisoned will benefit from the SCC's ruling. May God be with us,” legal activist Tarek Al-Awadi wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday. “While backing the constitutionality of articles 7 and 19 was a shock, ruling Article 10 as unconstitutional is a decisive victory,” said Ali. He warned that the government was almost certain to appeal the SCC's ruling on Article 10 and appealed for vigilance on the part of activists in defence of the ruling. The protest law was passed in November 2013, in the wake of the removal of Mohamed Morsi. The 25-article law sparked an outcry among political forces and activists who argued that rather than organising demonstrations it imposed a blanket ban. Since the law was issued hundreds of activists, both Islamist and secular, have been imprisoned on charges of organising or participating in unauthorised protests. Following the promulgation of the 2014 constitution lawyers launched appeals contesting the constitutionality of the law, arguing that it violated constitutional guarantees of the right to protest During October's Sharm El-Sheikh National Youth Conference President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi raised the possibility of revising the protest law. Following the SCC ruling amending the law, particularly Article 10, has become an urgent necessity. Legal experts say amendments must now be included specifying the judiciary's authority to halt protests and until they are must desist from taking any action based on the rejected article. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Magdi Al-Agati told the press on Saturday that the government will introduce the necessary amendments as soon as it receives a copy of the ruling. “The government had already started amending the law. Now we are waiting for the SCC to provide the reasons behind its ruling before moving forward in this regard,” he said. A government committee tasked with amending the law is expected to send draft amendments to the House of Representatives within a matter of weeks. The House of Representative, as the sole legislator, may ignore government amendments and introduce its own changes to the law.
