Egypt proceeds with judiciary law despite uproar

Cairo: Egypt’s Islamist-led parliament on Wednesday pushed ahead with a law that could force into retirement many of the nation’s most senior judges, despite an uproar by the judiciary over fears the president’s allies want to control the courts.

The country’s Judges’ Club, an organisation representing Egypt’s judges, warned they would not recognise the law or even the discussions in parliament about it. They vowed to turn to international organisations, such as the United Nations and African Union, to investigate what they said are violations against the judiciary.

More than 6,000 judges from around the country gathered in Cairo on Wednesday to decide on a strategy in their power struggle with President Mohammad Mursi.

The crisis over the judiciary is a reflection of the deep polarisation that has split the country.

The judiciary, with mostly secular-minded professional judges, is seen by many Egyptians as one of the only remaining buffers against Islamists’ monopoly on power following the overthrow of authoritarian ruler Husni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamist parties have swept elections and dominated legislative councils and the presidency.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood party counters that many judges are holdovers from the Mubarak era who must be replaced. Morsi’s supporters engaged in violent street clashes last Friday with opponents over calls to “cleanse the judiciary”.

The opposition vowed to step up its campaign against the bill. Activist groups who helped topple Mubarak, such as the April 6 Movement, are demanding reform of the judiciary and support its independence. April 6 warned in a statement against replacing remnants of Mubarak’s regime with Mursi’s loyalists.

The head of the criminal court in Cairo’s sister city of Giza, Fahmy Munir, was among those at the Judges’ Club meeting.

“We tell them, don’t transgress against the judiciary,” he warned the government, adding that violations against the judiciary are akin to “a challenge to the people”.

Presidential spokesman Ihab Fahmy told reporters on Wednesday that the Islamist president respects the judges.

“The president wants to contain the judiciary crisis,” he said. “The president firmly stressed that it’s unacceptable to hurt or encroach on the judiciary.”

Among the setbacks the judiciary dealt the president’s backers was disbanding the Islamist-dominated parliament last year, citing unconstitutionality of the election law. Last month, the courts challenged a law governing parliamentary elections that were supposed to begin this month, delaying the vote indefinitely. The president’s party was pushing for early elections.

During the parliamentary session, independent lawmaker Tharwat Nafaa ripped up a letter sent by the Judges’ Club. The letter demanded the parliament stop debating the law because it said the constitutionality of the body was in dispute.

Before thousands of judges late on Wednesday, union chief Ahmad Al Zind questioned Nafaa’s political affiliation. “Are you really independent?” he shouted during his lengthy speech.

The crisis over the judiciary also has prompted the resignations of top Mursi aides. On Monday, Mursi’s top legal adviser, Mohammad Fouad Gadallah, resigned, saying he wanted to shed light “on the extent of the danger facing the country” at a time when “personal interests are overwhelming national interests.”

Two days earlier, justice minister Ahmad Mekki submitted his resignation. He was a pro-reform judge under Mubarak before becoming a minister in Mursi’s cabinet. He was criticised by liberals for continuing to serve under Mursi, while Islamists chided him for not supporting the disputed bill.