Legalization frameworks in building regulations and their relationship with the Reconciliation Law in Egypt

Magdy, Lina Mohamed; Gabr, Muhammad Ibrahim; Assem, Ayman Mohamed

doi:10.21608/jesaun.2021.93380.1073

Legalization frameworks in building regulations and their relationship with the Reconciliation Law in Egypt

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/jesaun.2021.93380.1073

Abstract

The issuance of the Building Reconciliation law no.17/2019 has imposed a new reality, allowing legalization for illegal constructions which Egypt has been facing its challenges since decades. New policies require in-depth research especially with the scarcity of data concerning this topic. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to study the law issuance context and drivers from a legislative point-of-view, and comparatively-analyse them both nationally and internationally.
The research starts by demonstrating the picture of the long-existing phenomenon, analyzing formerly-issued building laws together with the reconciliation law, in terms of the measures of dealing with illegal constructions using an inductive methodology. Then, conducting a comparative analysis between those laws, regarding the allowed and disallowed items for legalization. Then an analytic discussion of the law’s framework is conducted with a comparison between the Reconciliation Law and other similar international examples in terms of the process framework and mechanisms.
Results show that; former building laws in Egypt had all set the mechanism for legalization within their frameworks but with varying proportions, and they all failed to contain the situation. Generally-speaking, the Law allowed for legalizing most of the building violations in a rather flexible manner than before, but multiple issues appeared throughout its analysis. Therefore, recommendations include; the necessity of making quick action plans to strengthen the rule of law, protect the rights of law-abiders, include supervision mechanisms and dealing measures with unlegalized buildings. Also, comprehensive studies should be made to find practical means of achieving better urban integration of the legalized buildings.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Architecture Engineering and the Engineering Architectural Interior Design.

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