Council of Republics

The Council of Republics (Arabic: مجلس الجمهوريات majlis al-jumhūriyāt) is one of two nominally equal chambers of the Arab Congress, the federal legislative assembly of the Arab Union. It functions as the de facto "upper chamber" of the Arab Congress, the respective "lower chamber" being the Council of Deputies. According to the constitution, however, both chambers are officially equal.

The elected representatives of the Council of Republics are officially known as "counselors" (مستشارين mustashārīn; sg. مستشار mustashār), and often informally known as "senators" (شيوخ shuyūkh, lit. "elders"; sg. شيخ shaykh), with the Council of Republics itself often referred to in English as the "Senate"; the Council of Republics is always, however, referred to in Arabic by its official name, even if the same source refers to its members as senators.

The Council of Republics consists of 28 seats: two seats are reserved for each of the 20 republics of the Arab Union (the federated states which make up the union), and one seat is reserved for the federal capital of Nasser City (which is not part of any republic). The fact that the 20 republics each receive the same number of seats regardless of population is what makes the Council of Republics resemble a traditional "upper chamber", unlike its counterpart the Council of Deputies, which resembles a traditional "lower chamber" in that each seat represents roughly an equal number of constituents.

The Council of Republics meets in the North Parliament Building in Nasser City.