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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Royal children
The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled earlier this week that the 1953 confiscation of property and real estate owned by the royal family violated the constitution and should be returned to their grandchildren, reports Mariz Tadros. The court ruling went in favour of the three princesses, Ferial, Fadya and Fawziya, daughters of Queen Farida, the first wife of King Farouk. Several members of the royal family have been involved in legal battles over many years seeking to regain their confiscated property.When the property was confiscated in the 1952 Revolution, members of the royal family were given one year to reclaim ownership from a confiscation committee or the claim would be dropped. The Supreme Constitutional Court deemed the law unconstitutional because Article 34 of the constitution upholds the right of personal property and the right of inheritance. These rights are not confined to a time-frame and, consequently, descendants of dispossessed owners have the right to re-claim ownership irrespective of how many years have passed since they lost the property. After the ruling in favour of the princesses, it is expected that the descendants of Mohamed Ali, a former ruler of Egypt, will now seek to regain their property as well.
Ibrahim El-Nemeki, deputy chairman of parliament's legislative committee, welcomed the court's decision. The confiscation of the princesses' property in the 1950s, he declared, was a violation of the constitution for several reasons, the most important of which was the confiscation committee itself. "When confiscation of land is enforced, the decision should be taken by the judiciary, not the executive authority, irrespective of the nature of the system, monarchical or otherwise. This is to ensure that those whose possessions are to be confiscated have the opportunity to defend themselves, which can only be done in a court of law," said El-Nemeki. "During the early years of the revolution, there were many so-called violations which were in fact crimes, abuse of power and exploitation."
The confiscated property is extensive. It includes palaces and resthouses as well as thousands of feddans of agricultural land. In recent years, there has been a massive outcry against the government's neglect of many of these now dilapidated palaces, considered an important part of the national heritage. Royal property was either turned into government institutions and schools or auctioned off at low prices. But some of the most splendid palaces once owned by the royal family, such as the Abdin Palace, were recently renovated and opened to the public. Earlier this year, King Farouk's resthouse north of Helwan was turned into a museum and also opened to the public.
The difficulty, El-Nemeki pointed out, lies in the implementation of the court's order. "The fact that we now have an open economy instead of the previous socialist system should make it somewhat easier," he said. "But bear in mind that our history books say the royal family was corrupt, so implementation will be difficult." El-Nemeki said that some, not all, family members fit the description, "so we should not generalise. So it's high time they get their property back."
