The Egyptian government has requested a delay to the new Criminal Procedure Law, which was set to take effect on October 1, 2026. According to parliamentary sources, the government cited incomplete technical preparations and infrastructure needed for its implementation as the reason for the delay. This request comes hours before the law's scheduled entry into force.
The bureau of the House of Representatives' Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee discussed the proposal ahead of an emergency plenary session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Hani Hanna and Mohamed Kafafi, legal adviser to the House Speaker, attended the meeting. The committee's bureau was preparing a report on the proposed postponement for submission to the emergency session.
A postponement would give the relevant authorities additional time to complete the preparations needed to implement the law's provisions in full. The government attributed its request to unfinished technical and technological preparations, particularly those required for new procedures involving greater use of technology and digital systems within the justice system.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified the law in November 2025 after parliament approved amendments addressing his earlier objections. The October 2026 start date was intended to allow judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and lawyers to familiarize themselves with the new provisions, and courts to establish telephone notification centers.
The legislation also retains traditional methods of notifying litigants when electronic notification is unavailable. Parliament had initially approved the legislation in April 2025 after three years of preparation and five months of debate. El-Sisi returned the draft to parliament in September 2025, seeking stronger safeguards for homes and defendants' rights.
The revised law expands alternatives to pretrial detention from three to seven and strengthens judicial oversight of detention pending questioning, alongside safeguards governing home searches and defendants' access to lawyers. The House subsequently scheduled a review of the objections for the opening of its legislative session on October 1, 2025.
The delay request comes as the government works to implement the law, which aims to modernize the justice system. The law's implementation will depend on the completion of the technical preparations and infrastructure needed to support its provisions.
Key points
- The Egyptian government requests a delay to the new Criminal Procedure Law due to incomplete technical preparations and infrastructure.
- The law aims to modernize the justice system by expanding alternatives to pretrial detention and strengthening judicial oversight.
- A postponement would give authorities additional time to complete preparations needed to implement the law's provisions in full.
