Ibrahim El-Heneidi, the chair of the Egyptian parliament's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told reporters on Monday that the new draft law permitting automatic dismissal of civil servants primarily targets the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist elements in government circles. "The draft law, which was drafted by MPs Ali Badr and Abla El-Hawary, was overwhelmingly approved by the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee's members and reflects the state's keenness to rid the government and the administrative system of the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist elements," said Heneidi. According to Heneidi, the draft law which is officially called 'the Law on Non-Disciplinary Dismissal of Civil Servants' helps to protect the country's national security in terms of purging the government and the administrative system of state employees and civil servants who could do a lot of harm to the state's supreme interests. Heneidi said the draft law goes in line with two previous laws, the first on combating terrorism and the second on entities blacklisted as terrorist organisations. "The new draft law defines the conditions in which civil servants and state employees with proven links to the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist-designated organisations will be automatically dismissed," said Heneidi, adding that "these civil servants and state employees will be first suspended from exercising their jobs for six months and at the end they will be completely and legally dismissed." MP Ali Badr told the House's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Monday that there is a pressing need for combating terrorist elements in the state's administrative system. "Some cabinet ministers have lately complained in parliament that they do not have the legal tools necessary to rid their ministries of civil servants and state employees espousing terrorist thoughts and ideologies and with links to the Muslim Brotherhood in particular," said Badr, adding that "the new draft law comes to give cabinet ministers the necessary legal tools to automatically dismiss civil servants and state employees with proven links to the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist-designated groups." Badr indicated that the draft law gives civil servants the right to appeal against the dismissal decision and the right to go back to their jobs if their names were removed from the lists of terrorist entities. Ibrahim Shaarawi, deputy justice minister, said the draft law clearly helps the state fight extremist thoughts in government and administrative circles. "But at the same time, it allows state employees and civil servants to appeal the dismissal decision before administrative courts, and in this respect, the new draft law goes in line with the constitution," said Shaarawi. The draft law will be discussed and voted on by the House in a plenary session on Tuesday.
