Amendment to the Rules for Preventi
Amendment to the Rules for Prevention from Travel
Prevention from travel is a well-established procedure in Egyptian criminal law, which aims at barring those who are accused of certain crimes or under investigation from leaving the country. And whereas the legal basis for such measure is stated in the Criminal Code, the specific regulations governing it were issued in 1994 by the Minister of Interior (Decree No. 2214 of 1994).
In this context the Minister of Interior has last month issued Decree No. 933 of 2012 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 98 bis, April 29th, 2012) amending those rules by adding new officials to those with the powers to issue a preventive order. Thus currently those with such powers are the following:
1. The Courts.
2. The Prosecutor General.
3. The Deputy Minister of Justice for Illicit Gains.
4. The Head of Public Intelligence.
5. The Head of Administrative Supervision (Anti-Corruption Body).
6. The Head of Military Intelligence.
7. The Head of Personal and Service Matters in the Armed Forces.
8. The Military Public Prosecutor.
9. The Deputy Minister of Interior for National Security.
10. The Deputy Minister of Interior for Public Security.
The prevention from travel is a normal and necessary measure in criminal law. However, the excessive number of officials empowered to issue such orders may lead to an overlap in jurisdiction and an unnecessary dilution of authority. It would be advisable to reduce the number of officials entitled to issue these preventive orders to avoid the overlap, while allowing other persons and entities to request the issuance of these orders from those who would continue to have that power.
Prevention from travel is a well-established procedure in Egyptian criminal law, which aims at barring those who are accused of certain crimes or under investigation from leaving the country. And whereas the legal basis for such measure is stated in the Criminal Code, the specific regulations governing it were issued in 1994 by the Minister of Interior (Decree No. 2214 of 1994).
In this context the Minister of Interior has last month issued Decree No. 933 of 2012 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 98 bis, April 29th, 2012) amending those rules by adding new officials to those with the powers to issue a preventive order. Thus currently those with such powers are the following:
1. The Courts.
2. The Prosecutor General.
3. The Deputy Minister of Justice for Illicit Gains.
4. The Head of Public Intelligence.
5. The Head of Administrative Supervision (Anti-Corruption Body).
6. The Head of Military Intelligence.
7. The Head of Personal and Service Matters in the Armed Forces.
8. The Military Public Prosecutor.
9. The Deputy Minister of Interior for National Security.
10. The Deputy Minister of Interior for Public Security.
The prevention from travel is a normal and necessary measure in criminal law. However, the excessive number of officials empowered to issue such orders may lead to an overlap in jurisdiction and an unnecessary dilution of authority. It would be advisable to reduce the number of officials entitled to issue these preventive orders to avoid the overlap, while allowing other persons and entities to request the issuance of these orders from those who would continue to have that power.