Carnegie: Egypt’s Draft Constitution Rewards the Military and Judiciary

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyzes the new constitution proposed for Egypt (another constitution was just adopted in 2012). The proposals include:

* The Egyptian military would get enshrined as a branch of government unto itself;

* While it's typically a good thing for the judiciary to have autonomy, the Egyptian judiciary, "which strongly supported the military takeover" from the elected Muslim Brotherhood, won independence in the constitutional draft;

* The Supreme Constitutional Court, which decides constitutional issue, would get the right to appoint its own chief justice.

The new constitution is slated for a referendum in January. In July, the Egyptian military overthrew Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi, the first president to be elected since the removal of former president Hosni Mubarak.