Egyptian president ratifies new judicial authority law

The new bill has been published in the official state journal.

According to the new law, the Egyptian president has the right to choose the heads of Egypt’s judicial bodies out of three nominees proposed from within each body.

The Egyptian House of Representative passed the law on Wednesday after it was approved by two-thirds of parliament, despite complete rejection to the law by judges’ clubs, which function similarly to unions, across the country.

Clubs that rejected the law charge that it violates the guarantee of an independent judiciary and a separation of powers as enshrined in Egypt’s 2014 constitution.

The old judicial authority law stipulates that the heads of judicial bodies be selected based on seniority by their judicial councils and that the president simply ratify the councils’ selections.

On Wednesday, the boards of several judges’ clubs, as well as the state council’s club held urgent meetings to discuss their next moves, following parliament’s decision to pass the law.

Both the state council’s club and the judges clubs called on Sisi not to ratify the law.

The judges’ clubs also called for a general assembly on 5 May to discuss their plan of action. They have already begun to compile a court case challenging the new law’s legality. 

Source: Ahram online