I. North Africa
A. Egypt
In 2011, the most significant legal developments stemmed from the civilian revolution against the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak. In January and February, millions of Egyptians staged uprisings against Mubarak's 30-year rule, protesting on-going violations of human rights, economic stagnation, and the 2010 renewal of the state of emergency law. On February 11, Mubarak stepped down as president, and the military took over power on an interim basis.
In March, an overwhelming majority of the Egyptian electorate voted in a referendum to amend the Egyptian Constitution to eliminate restrictions on Egyptians' political rights and to institute changes to parliamentary and presidential election procedures. In November, Egyptians protested against the ruling Egyptian military regime and its draft for the new Egyptian constitution. Objections to the draft included the degree of power it will confer upon the military, even following parliamentary and presidential elections.
