Report of the Special Mission to Egypt under Lord Milner, and related papers [‎30v] (60/473)

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extended criminal jurisdiction which these Courts will hereafter possess, a criminal
procedure must be found which will give general satisfaction. In framing any new
codes to be applied by the reconstituted Mixed Courts, particularly in framing a new
Criminal Procedure Code, members of the Mixed Bar, representing the various foreign
colonies, should be invited to take part.
The prestige and the independence which the Mixed Courts have enjoyed in the
past must be scrupulously maintained. It would be disastrous if the opinion became
prevalent that attempts were being made to undermine the independence and the
authority of these Courts.
If the power to approve legislation so as to make it binding on foreigners is vested
in the High Commissioner in lieu of the individual Governments, or of the General
Assembly of the Mixed Court of Appeal, as heretofore, an Advisory Committee,
representing the various foreign communities, should be constituted to advise him as
to the approval of such legislation. The members of this Committee should be elected
by the foreign colonies they represent and the numerical strength of these colonies
should be taken into account in determining the number of their representatives.
The agreement with each of the foreign Powers for closing its Consular Court and
for transferring to His Majesty’s Government the exercise of its rights under the
Capitulations should contain an assurance that the nationals of that Power shall stand
on the same footing as British subjects in Egypt in all such matters as the administra
tion of justice, commercial and industrial liberty, the right to hold property and the
payment of taxation.
The fusion of the Mixed and Consular Courts will not affect the Native Courts,
and no great change in their organisation seems called for at present. The new
Codes—of which the preparation was commenced by the Capitulations Commission—
are urgently required, and they should be completed and carried into effect with as
little delay as possible.
The special regime, established in the Western and Eastern Deserts and in the
Sinai Peninsular by the Frontier Districts Administration, should be maintained, and
the jurisdiction of the Military Courts set up there should be preserved. In civil cases
the jurisdiction of these Courts should be concurrent with that of the other Egyptian
Courts.
VI.—Representative Institutions.
If such a Treaty as is contemplated in Section II above were to be concluded, the
powers of the Egyptian Legislature of the future would be determined by the
Egyptians themselves, and it would be for them to say how far they desired to go in
the direction of responsible government. In that case it is probable that the
establishment of complete parliamentary control over the executive would, at any rate,
be attempted. But even in default of such a Treaty it is desirable to foster the growth
of representative institutions.
The only organ of national self-government at present existing in Egypt is the
Legislative Assembly, which has important, though limited, powers with respect to
legislation and taxation.
The sessions ot the Legislative Assembly have been suspended during the war,
and it is doubtful whether they could now be resumed without a general election. It
may be impossible to hold such an election while the present agitation is at fever heat,
but we are strongly of opinion that, at the first favourable opportunity, the Legislative
Assembly should be revived and should thenceforward continue to hold annual sessions.
It is to be expected that the Legislative Assembly, whenever it is revived, will
adopt a very critical, if not hostile, attitude to the Government, but attacks upon the
Government in a representative Assembly, which is bound to have some sense of
responsibility, cannot be more damaging or less helpful than those which are now
incessantly directed against it by a wholly irresponsible press.
The Assembly will also, no doubt, be constantly striving to increase its own
powers, especially with regard to the control of finance. But this is the normal course
of constitutional development, and as a representative Assembly gains in experience
and authority, it is only right that its control over finance should extend till it finally
becomes complete.
In any case, it is not just to condemn the Legislative Assembly because of the
somewhat discouraging results of its first session in 1914. Both as a legitimate outlet
for the expression of public feeling, and as a check on the bureaucratic engine, a
representative Assembly is essential to the healthy development of political life in
Egypt.