Cairo: The Cabinet, during its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, approved a draft law on the issuance of the Family Law. This decision aligns with directives from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to expedite the referral of family law bills for both Muslims and Christians, along with the Family Support Fund, to Parliament.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the Prime Minister stated that the government will continue referring family law bills sequentially to Parliament on a weekly basis after their discussion in Cabinet. This process aims to meet citizens’ aspirations, preserve family and social stability, and safeguard the rights of all parties involved. The draft discussed in the meeting is the second of three family law bills, with one remaining to be considered in a future session.

A specialized drafting committee composed of both male and female judges was formed, which worked for one year and held more than 40 sessions to develop the draft. The law seeks to achieve several objectives, including protecting and stabilizing families in line with Article 10 of the Constitution and safeguarding the best interests of the child according to Article 80. It also aims to fulfill Egypt’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, reinforce equality between men and women, and protect women from all forms of violence under Article 11 of the Constitution.

The draft was prepared in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia as the main source of legislation and the basis for regulating personal status laws for Muslims, as stated in Article 2 of the Constitution. The law consolidates all substantive and procedural personal status provisions into a single code, previously scattered across five different laws, some dating back nearly a century, making it a unified legal reference for both citizens and judicial authorities.

The draft consists of six issuance articles and 355 substantive articles divided into three sections: guardianship over persons, guardianship over property for all Egyptians subject to the law, and litigation procedures before family courts. Following the discussions, the Prime Minister affirmed the government’s significant effort in drafting the law and its openness to any views or amendments proposed by Parliament members.