Legalizing Bequests to Heirs in Egypt as a Legislative Application of Talfīq: towards a Purposive Interpretation of Article 37 of Law No. 71/1946

Abstract This paper tackles one example of interaction between state laws and social norms. It investigates the rationale behind the unprecedented legalization of bequeathing to heirs in Egypt that happened by the virtue of article 37 of law no. 71/1946. This article represents a legal rule that renegotiates a well settled matter in the Sunni jurisprudence based on an undefined common need that was alleged in the explanatory memorandum of this law. The paper investigates that common need through an originalist approach into the mentioned article then validates the output of that investigation by a review of relevant judicial rulings. As part of this originalist approach, the paper engages with the available data pertaining to the drafting process of law no. 71/1946, the key members in the drafting committee, and the parliamentary discussion on article 37 of the law. It also attempts a contextual reading for article 37 to understand its legal rationale and propose criteria for judicial enforcement that would maintain this rationale.