Egypt’s Parliament has approved a controversial law on judicial reform that falls short of opposition demands but temporarily quiets a fierce campaign against the regime by the country’s judges.
”The law has curbed the powers of the Ministry of Justice, but as a jurist, I am pleased with that,” Justice Minister Mahmoud Abu Leil told Parliament on Monday.
He described the Judicial Authority Law, put forward by the government as part of President Hosni Mubarak’s 2005 election campaign pledges, as ”a major accomplishment for the independence of the judiciary”.
Under the new law, the attorney general is no longer under the authority of Justice Ministry.
But the reformist wing of the judges club and MPs from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood argued that the legislation fails to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
”We called for dialogue, but unfortunately the government ignored us,” pro-reform Judge Assem Abdel Gabbar told Agence France-Presse.
”This law is very disappointing and removed from any reform that could guarantee the independence of the judiciary,” said Mohammed al-Baltagi, one of the 88 lawmakers in the Islamist bloc.
The country’s judge have spearheaded a fierce campaign for more independence that culminated when two of their most prominent members faced disciplinary action for denouncing state-sponsored fraud in last year’s parliamentary elections.
The move sparked a wave of protests last month and rallied the country’s opposition behind the judges, making them one of the most potent symbols of the drive for democratic reform in Egypt.
The judges admitted that some points in the new law were positive but also noted that key demands had been rejected, among them a provision for at least two of the Supreme Judiciary Council’s seven members to be elected rather than appointed by presidential decree.
Another reform that was rejected demanded that the council eventually take over responsibility for the body that decides on promotions and demotions for the judges, who are among the country’s best-paid civil servants.
Abdel Gabbar admitted that the law took the steam out of the judges’ campaign. ”This piece of legislation is a reality that we cannot ignore,” he said.
Ahmed Mekki, another reformist judge, pointed out that the law was passed just as most of the syndicate’s members were going on their summer break. ”We will not be able to hold another general assembly before the fall [autumn],” he said. — Sapa-AFP