Egypt's parliament meets in extraordinary session for urgent draft law

Egypt's House of Representatives convened an extraordinary session on Wednesday to consider an urgent draft law requested by more than one-tenth of its members.

• The House of Representatives convened the session at President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's request, according to parliamentary sources.
• The session came less than 24 hours before the chamber's scheduled opening of its second regular session of the third legislative term on Thursday, 1 October 2026.
• Internal regulation Article 275 permits extraordinary sessions outside the regular term on the president's call or on a request signed by at least one-tenth of members.
• The bill, presented by lawmaker Hesham al-Hosary, would delay the new criminal procedure code's implementation one year to 1 October 2027.
• Speaker Hesham Badawi confirmed the bill's documents are available for review in the council's secretariat.
• Some members objected to the session's constitutionality and the timing of the bill's submission and discussion.
• The House of Representatives approved in principle the draft law postponing the criminal procedure code's implementation one year to 1 October 2027.
• The House of Representatives granted final approval on Wednesday to the bill postponing the criminal procedure law's implementation to 1 October 2027.
• The amendment, designated as modifying the Criminal Procedure Code (Law No. 174 of 2025), was co-signed by more than 60 MPs.
• The delay aims to give authorities time to complete regulatory, technical and human requirements, including electronic judicial notification and remote litigation systems.
• Hani Hanna, minister of parliamentary affairs, told the session that criminal courts are ready and that a one-year delay suffices to complete preparations.
• Several lawmakers criticized the session's legal and procedural basis, claiming the government is unprepared to apply the new criminal procedure code.