ABSTRACT
During the period of constitution drafting that followed Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow, the administrative judiciary and the Supreme Constitutional Court each made a series of critical interventions in Egyptian politics. This included ordering the dissolution of elected bodies, invalidating government laws and decrees, and lobbying against proposed changes to the constitution. These actions, which ultimately contributed to the breakdown of the democratic transition in 2013, were the result of complex dynamics between Egypt’s judicial, political, and military leaders. This chapter analyzes those dynamics, the motivations behind them, and the role of the courts during this critical period.
