The Egyptian Legal System an inside look Written by

Abstract

Introduction The Arab Republic of Egypt (Egypt) lies in the northeastern part of Africa. Whilst most of the country lies in Africa, the eastern most part, the Sinai Peninsula, is considered part of Asia and is the only land bridge between the two continents. Egypt is divided into two unequal parts by the Nile River, and its terrain is mostly desert except for the Valley and Delta of the Nile, the most extensive oasis on earth and one of the main centers of habitation in Egypt. Whilst Cairo is the largest city and the capital of Egypt, Alexandria remains the principal port of Egypt on the Mediterranean and the second biggest city. With an area of more than one million square kilometers (1001450 sq km), Egypt prides itself in having extensive borders: to the west is Libya, to the south is Sudan, to the northeast are Israel and the Gaza strip, to the north is Mediterranean Sea, and to the east is the Red Sea. Egypt is the sixteenth most populous country in the world with a population of 78.8 million people (2006); not surprisingly most of the population is concentrated near the banks of the Nile River which amounts to about 40,000 sq km, leaving about 961450 sq km uninhabited. This is due to the fact that the land near the banks of the Nile is only arable agricultural land in Egypt. However, there are ongoing efforts of urban development and populating the desert in order to reduce the heavy concentration of the population along the Nile.