FILE - Judge Hassan Farid speaks during a verdict session ina case against 739 people involved in a 2013 sit-in, in Cairo, Egypt June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
CAIRO – 13 September 2018: MP Ahmed Helmy, deputy head of the Constitutional and Legislation Affairs Committee, said he will submit a proposal to amend a judicial law to allow judges to keep legal immunity after retirement.
Helmy announced his intention to submit the proposal during the Parliament’s fourth sessionthat starts in October.
Abdel Sattar Imam, former head of the Cairo Criminal Court, expressed agreement to the expected proposal,explainingthat judges need to be protected after retirement in order not to get targeted by false accusations.
Imam said that enjoying legal immunity does not mean that judges will be above law. However, they will be prosecuted based on certain procedures that will make them feel safe. Imam addedthat the procedures will include passing the accusations to the Egyptian Supreme Judiciary Council.
Imam affirmed that the judicial authority law needs to be reconsidered in order to achieve justice and back judicial independence, stressingthat the Egyptian Judges’ Club is also preparing a new draft law to be submitted to the Parliament during the fourth session.
In April2017, the Parliament approved a number of draft laws, including a controversial bill concerning judicial authority. The law grants the president authority to appoint judicial posts. The bill created uproar between judges and lawmakers.
According to April amendments, the president hasthe right to appoint the heads of the Court of Cassation, the Administrative Control Authority (ACA), the State Council and the State Lawsuits Authority.
The amendments also stipulate that the president has the right to choose one out of three candidates, usually nominated by the councils of the judiciary bodies for the judicial presidency. The three candidates should be deputies of the outgoing chairpersons.
Thejudicial authority’s legal norm is for the judiciary body’s council to elect the oldest appointed judge as president.
The Judges’ Club declared its rejection of the amendments, saying they contradict the Egyptian Constitution which stipulates that “the judiciary is independent,” per article No. 184.
More than 600 judges of the State Council held a general assembly meeting and refused the amendments, saying, “The legislative authority should respect the Constitution and uphold the basic principles, particularly the principle of separation of power.”
Additional reporting by Samar Samir
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