Egypt

-The Constitution of Egypt is the Supreme Law of the State, followed respectively by Parliamentary legislation, Presidential decrees, Prime Ministerial decrees, ministerial decisions, and acts of governors, heads of governmental agencies, and public corporations. The Constitution of 11 September 1971 has since been amended three times: 22 May 1980, 25 May 2005, and 26 March 2007.
- The Constitution declares Egypt to be a presidential democracy based on the principle of separation of powers. Egypt’s legal system is inspired from three major sources: Napoleonic code, Roman law and Islamic (Shari’a) law. The judicial system consists of ordinary courts of law as well as separate administrative law courts.
- Although it does not explicitly refer to intellectual property rights, the Constitution guarantees the protection of different forms of property. Of particular relevance, see Article 12 (“Society shall be committed to safeguarding and protecting . . . the historical heritage of the people . . .”), Article 34 (“Private ownership shall be safeguarded . . .”), Article 45 (“The law shall protect the inviolability of the private life of citizens . . . secrecy shall be guaranteed . . .”), and Article 49 (“The State shall guarantee . . . the freedom of scientific research and literary, artistic and cultural creativity and provide the necessary means for encouraging their realization”).