It is with a very measured sense that Hoda ElSadda, member of the recently founded Institution to Defend the Constitution, and rapporteur of the liberties and rights chapter for the C-50, expressed optimism over the recent statements made by Minister of State for Legal Affairs Magdi ElAgati that promised an amendment of the controversial law to regulate the right for civil protests.

Earlier in the month, ElAgati had promised that in the near future the law that was issued under the interim presidency of Adly Mansour, in 2014, in the long absence of a legislative body would be subject to amendments that are designed to reduce what critics had been arguing are excessive constraints that go against the text and spirit of the constitution drafted by the C50 and adopted with an overwhelming majority in January 2014.

“This is an overdue process; this law has always been incompatible with the constitution and it is time to rectify this without any further delay,” ElSadda said.

She argued that this move, should it happen, should be followed by a reverse of legal courts that sent young men and women to jail for having violated this “law which is unconstitutional to start with”.

ElSadda insisted that once the amended law is issued, prompt measures to release those who had been sent to jail should be taken without any further delay.

“This is about the respect of the constitution and it is also about the pursuit of a much needed social cohesion,” she added.

ElSadda is convinced that the issue of social cohesion is central to the dominating idea of the 2014 constitution. And, she said, the issue of social justice is consequently very key “because in the absence of social justice and politics sensitive to the economically challenged there is no way we could obtain social cohesion,” she said.

As such, ElSadda is very worried about the new state budget which she finds to be “totally off the line of social justice as off the text of the constitution”.

ElSadda is particularly concerned with the failure of the executive to honour the share of the budget that the constitution stipulates as a minimum for public spending for health, education and scientific research.

According to the 2014 constitution the state should allocate 3 percent of the budget for health services – which are in a very unfortunate shape – and 6 per cent for education – which prompts endless criticism – and 1.5 cent for scientific research.

“This is supposed to be the minimum; the fact that the executive decides to forgo this minimum is very alarming,” ElSadda said.

She explained that there are two reasons for concern: the first is the almost systematic shrugging off the constitution and the second is the insensitivity to the acute complaints of the vast majority of the about health and education services.

ElSadda had already been worried with the little attention that she found that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail had given to these “two very crucial issues” in his statement before parliament in April.

“I could see this coming in the budget but I was hoping that I was wrong,” she said.

ElSadda is currently discussing the issue with members of the new institution as with members of parliament.

She does not have immediate answers about how this could – or if it would be – rectified. But she is certain that advocacy is required if only to secure future change – and certainly to take the constitution off the shelf where it has been put for the most part during the past two years.

“I think that even though we have been going through a lengthy transition and have been faced with no small challenges, we are way overdue in implementing the text and spirit of the constitution… especially on the chapter related to rights and liberties seems to have been almost all forgotten,” she argued.

The failure of the state to amend the regulations on the right to protest and the failure to allocate the necessary resources to health and education are but some of many other signs of the lack of attention tht the executive is showing to the constitutional text on rights and liberties.

“I am not just talking aobut rights and freedom of expression, which are essential liberties according to the constitution, but also about socioeconomic rights,” she said.

She added “ the whole purpose of drafting this constitution was to make sure that it is implemented… this was not just designed as act as a reminder that this constitution was not designed to serve a cosmetic purpose,” ElSadda insisted.

Moroever, she argued that the executive cannot simply decide to overlook any particular chapter under any given pretext, “because I do hear some who suggest that there are those in executive quarters who argue the incompatibility of the chapter on freedoms and rights with the requirements and challenges of the confrontation the state is having with terrorist groups, and I think it is wrong for anyone to even start to suggest this.”

According to ElSadda, there is no "either/or" argument to be made on freedoms versus terrorism.

ElSadda acknowledges that calls for “introducing amendments” to a constitution “that has not even been taken to practice” are unrealistic. “I mean, even if we decided that we want to go through amendments soon, we need to at least explore the text that we have in practice,” she said.

ElSadda insists that "taking the constitution towards implementation" cannot be done selectively.

“Honouring freedoms and rights, including socioeconomic rights, freedoms of expression and other public liberties, is actually essential to consolidating society, which should be the obvious requirement for any war against terrorism, anywhere in the world and we are not an exception,” she said.

Moreover, ElSadda insisted that it is erroneous of the same sceptical currents in the ranks of the executive to argue or act against the role of civil society, as demonstrated with the attack on several prominent NGOs, including Al-Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture.

According to the constitution that the executive, from the top to bottom, is sworn to uphold, ElSadda reminds, the role of the state is to support and not to hamper the contribution of civil society.

Moreover, she reminds, the post-30 June/3 July regime agreed, during the periodic review of the situation of rights in Egypt in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in November 2014 and March 2015, to honour and support the role of the civil society, alongside other still unfulfilled commitments related to the right to demonstrate and to assemble, and the need to protect human rights defenders.

Egypt, ElSadda reminds, should have acted to “prepare and adopt the law affirming the right to establish non-governmental organisations merely upon notification,” as per the commitment it accepted.

She equally expressed concern over the official rigidity demonstrated on the matter during a session of the UN Human Rights in Geneva earlier in June. “This is not a very positive sign,” she argued.

This month, the working groups of the "Institution to Defend the Constitution" will consider "what needs to be done" on these and other matters, “that actually touch the core of the constitution that is designed to secure the formation and protection of a civil state in the full sense of the word," according to ElSadda.

“We need to look at what should be done on the law that regulates demonstrations, which we have always argued was unconstitutional, and what should be done towards implementing the constitutional text on securing a specific share for women in judicial bodies, and what needs to be done on honouring constitutional stipulations on the role of labour and professional syndicates,” ElSadda said.

She added: “I have to say that one is really worried because it is not only that these texts are overlooked, but at points they are actually — and maybe even deliberately — contradicted.”

“It is not happening; the constitution is just not being implemented and we actually sense that there is a smear campaign that targets some of the basic rights included there — especially those related to human rights, political liberties and civil society,” ElSadda said.

“Our ultimate objective is to secure the rule of law. This is the basic foundation of a civil state, just as it is the foundation of securing development and combating terrorism. Without the rule of law, and here I should note without the role of NGOs that are the watchdogs that observe the rule of law, we are up to some unfortunate challenges,” she said.