مقدمة عامة حول قانون العقوبات المصري

General Introduction

• This study focuses on the general provisions of the Egyptian Penal Code, issued by Law No. 58 of 1937 and its amendments.
• The code's provisions encompass articles 19 to 76.
• These articles outline the principles of criminalization and punishment, including their applicability in terms of time, place, and individuals.

Relationship to Other Branches of Criminal Law

• The Penal Code is one of several criminal sciences.
• These sciences also include criminal procedure, criminology, penology, and criminal policy.
• The Penal Code regulates the state’s authority in punishing those who violate the law, including potentially capital punishment, imprisonment, and fines.
• It falls under public law, as one of its parties is the state's authority.

Sources of the Penal Code

• The primary source of all Egyptian legislation according to the Constitution is Islamic jurisprudence and its principles. This also applies to criminal legislation.
• Additional sources include ethics, economics, commerce, politics, culture, and other bodies of knowledge.
• These sources protect public and private interests along with national interests.
• The legislator identifies actions threatening these interests that warrant criminalization and punishment.
• A structure for the study is outlined. The study will be in four parts; criminalization & punishment concepts, criminal offenses, criminal liability and justification clauses; and the fifth part will deal with criminal penalties

Principles of Criminalization and Punishment

• The key principle is the principle of legality, meaning no crime or punishment without a legal provision.
• This principle leads to other subsidiary rules, including the non-retroactivity of criminal laws and the principle of strict interpretation of criminal provisions.
• Criminalization and punishment have a defined scope regarding time, place, and persons related to the application of the principle.
• This part is divided into two chapters: the first deals with the principle of legality, while the second deals with the scope of application of the Penal Code.

Principle of Legality in Criminal Law

• The term "legality" is derived from the word "Sharia".
• Constitutional legality means consistency with the Constitution's provisions, while penal legality means that there is no crime or punishment except by law.
• The chapter discusses constitutional and legal legality for criminal laws, sources of criminal texts, and strict interpretation of criminal texts.

Sources of Criminal Legislation

• The source of criminal law is legislation, and it is often found in laws issued by the parliament, specifically in Egypt, the People's Assembly.
• This includes the Penal Code itself, and specific criminal areas such as narcotics, weapons, fraud, traffic violations (and others).
• Additional sources include executive decrees, which are legislative provisions passed by the President when urgent circumstances prevent delays at the level of the legislature.
• Such decrees need to be reviewed and approved at the legislature in the following session to remain valid under Egyptian constitutional law.

Interpretation of Criminal Provisions

• The objective is to adhere to the word of the law text, avoiding expansion.
• The principle of strict interpretation applies to suspects, and one cannot equate an event not explicitly criminalized to a similar, but criminalized event.
• For example, differences between usage of poisons/chemicals in criminal contexts should be assessed.

Application of the Penal Code in Time

• The principle of legality includes the non-retroactivity of criminal laws as a general rule.
• Laws cannot be applied retroactively.
• Penal rules are only applicable to actions subsequent to the law going into effect (published in the Official Gazette, unless a specific date for application is defined by the legislator).

Application of the Penal Code in Place

• Territoriality of the Penal Code is the principle, that the law only applies within the state's borders.
• The location of the crime determines the jurisdiction of the national criminal courts.
• Difficulties arise when elements of a crime occur in one place but the final outcome in another.

Application of the Penal Code to Individuals

• The Penal Code also considers the circumstances of individual criminal cases, potentially with special treatment given for specific individuals.

Criminal Offenses, Criminal Liability & Justification Clauses

• Analysis of criminal offenses, their elements, stages, participation, along with potential criminal liability & exemptions.
• This will be covered in subsequent chapters.

Further analysis of Specific Cases or Types of offenses

• Analysis of specific cases or types of criminal behavior. This might involve detailed examinations of certain crimes, criminal proceedings, and the application of laws to certain circumstances.