The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt was the former constitution of Egypt. It was adopted on 11 September 1971 through a public referendum. It was later amended in 1980, 2005, and 2007. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and party plurality. On 13 February 2011, the Constitution was suspended following the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak as a result of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. On 30 March 2011, it was "effectively voided" after a new provisional constitution was passed by the country's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. It has since been superseded by the Egyptian Constitution of 2012 and the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. History In 1963, following the 1961 dissolution of the United Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria, President Gamal Abdel Nasser adopted another constitution for Egypt which continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic. In 1971, when President Anwar Sadat took office, he moved for the adoption of a new democratic constitution that would allow more freedoms, a return of a more sound parliamentary life and correct democratic practice with the return of political parties and a bicameral parliamentary system. The 1971 constitution was the fourth adopted constitution since the declaration of the republic and the country became known officially as the Arab Republic of Egypt. During its existence, the 1971 constitution was known as "The Permanent Egyptian Constitution", although after its ratification, it was amended three times by two presidents; the first being in 1980 by Sadat at the end of his presidency and the two other times by President Hosni Mubarak in both 2005 and early 2007. The last amendments were the most comprehensive with 34 articles of the constitution changed. These amendments were mainly proposed by the National Democratic Party to move the country's political and economic tendencies further away from socialism and more towards capitalism. Nonetheless, these amendments represented a clear response to opposition to the government in light of the 2005 elections with articles 5, 88 and 179 adding constitutional permanence to the emergency law in place since 1981. In 2011, various political powers in Egypt asked for yet more reforms. Proponents of a more complete constitution intended to shape a more robust, variegated political and economic landscape in hopes of diversifying Egyptian political life, whether through more comprehensive amendments or