The Egyptian Constitution is among the first charters that upheld human rights and public freedoms, said Minister of State for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils Moufid Shehab.

Speaking at a seminar in Cairo University on Thursday, Shehab said that the core of democracy was the freedom of opinion and executive authorities to guarantee protection of rights and public freedoms. Constitutional amendments aim at boosting the democratic system, promoting rights and freedoms and bolstering partisan life, he added.

Shehab said the constitutional article stating that Islamic Sharia (law) is the main source of legislations does not contradict with the principle of equality and non-discrimination. The Constitution does not state that Islamic Sharia was the sole source of legislation, Shehab explained.

Rather, it states that Sharia is the main source of legislation in order to allow resorting to other laws that do not contradict with Sharia, he added.

Shehab said drafting an anti-terror law aims at striking a balance between individual freedoms and the homeland security.

Enshrining the anti-terror law in the Constitution will not make it immune to challenge, he added.

Shehab denied claims that the judicial supervision of the elections would be cancelled.

The judicial supervision will be re-organized in light of the numbers of electorate, election committees and judges, he added.