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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Princesses claim palace
By Mona El-NahhasThe Cairo Court of Appeals will soon give its final ruling in a lawsuit filed by the three daughters of the late King Farouk against the Egyptian government. In their suit the daughters claim their right to Al-Tahra palace and 1,744 feddans in Giza and Sharqiya governorates, all of which were seized by the state following the 1952 July Revolution. The ruling is to be handed down in April.
The lawsuit was first filed in 1996 at Cairo Southern Court, which rejected it, saying the plaintiffs' right had lapsed since more than 40 years had passed since the government seizure. At the Court of Appeals, the princesses contested the constitutionality of Article 12 of Law 589 for the year 1953 on the confiscation of the property of the Mohamed Ali family. The article made it a condition that whoever contests any of the confiscation measures should do so within a year following the issue of the Revolution Command Council's decree otherwise the right lapses. The Appeals Court referred the case to the Supreme Constitutional Court which ruled last October that the article was unconstitutional. It said the law contravened Article 34 of the 1971 constitution which says that private ownership is a permanent right which is not lost with the passage of time.
Mahmoud Dardeer, legal representative of the three princesses -- Ferial, 61, Fawzeya, 59, and Fadia 56 -- hailed the ruling, unprecedented in Egypt's courts. However, legal experts believe the ruling does not necessarily guarantee the daughters will have their rights restored. They say all it does is afford the opportunity to appeal.
The sisters, who reside in Geneva, are reportedly in financial straits. They did not attend any of the court sessions and reportedly do not relish the thought of visiting Egypt. Dardeer, who was given powers of attorney, claims he has never met any of the princesses and that his only contact with them has come through their agent, Abdel-Fattah Olama, who asked Dardeer to take the case.
A professor of constitutional law at Cairo University, Yehia El-Gamal, said if the former princesses submitted documents proving the palace and land were owned by their mother, Queen Farida -- who was not a member of the royal family at the time of confiscation -- the court would order that the properties be returned to Farida's heiresses.
Dardeer told Al-Ahram Weekly he had submitted all the documents which prove Farida owned the properties in 1953. Although he kept insisting he was a supporter of the revolution but decided to accept the case because of his sense of duty, Dardeer said the case was built upon a strong legal foundation. But he could not predict what the court's ruling would be. He said if it was difficult to have the palace and land returned, the daughters will get cash compensation equal to the current value of the properties, at present owned by the state and farmers.
A 1963 photo of late King Farouk's three daughters in the small Swiss town of Cully where they used to live and Al-Tahra palace of which they have claimed the right of ownership
Farouk was overthrown by the 1952 revolution, which abolished the monarchy and confiscated the properties of the royal family. Palaces such as Abdeen, Al-Kubba, Al-Montazah and Ras Al-Tin turned into presidential residences and offices. Al-Tahra palace, although small, is considered a world heritage in its own right because of the unique collection of antiques it houses.
The lawsuit gives a brief historical background about Al-Tahra palace. It was owned by Mohamed Taher Pasha, a member of the royal family. In 1939, Queen Farida bought the palace, which at the time covered 2,056 square metres, for LE40,000, then a king's ransom.
In 1944, Farida offered the palace to King Farouk through a gift deed. Dardeer said in the lawsuit that Farouk annulled the deed in 1948 and gave the palace back to Farida as part of their divorce settlement that same year.
The lawsuit also said that Farida owned 1,744 feddans in Sharqiya, in addition to three feddans at Al-Haram district. It said all these lands were seized by the state without compensating their owners. It adds that by virtue of the 1969 agricultural reform law, which limited each individual's property to 50 feddans, Queen Farida's daughters should have been given 150 feddans. Since nothing was ever returned to Farida and her daughters, the lawsuit claims their usurped rights should now be restored.
