How the Hart-Dworkin Debate Applies to Egyptian Legal Reform

My latest article for the Atlantic Council. An excerpt:

The Hart-Dworkin debate was and is no mere academic exercise. Quite the contrary; it touches on very tangible issues in the world today. Consider the case of Egypt. In December of last year, Egypt approved a constitution that made shari’a law “the main source of legislation.” This language was also present in the 1971 constitution, but the 2012 constitution goes further by listing said principles ( “evidence, rules, jurisprudence and sources”) and by giving “unprecedented powers to Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most respected religious school, by saying its scholars must be consulted on all matters relating to Sharia. The 1971 charter did not mention Al-Azhar.”

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