The Justice Support Foundation at the Arab Center for Judicial Independence issued a legal paper that addressed attempts to undermine judicial independence during the past ten years 2013-2023.
The paper reviewed previous attempts to issue a draft law guaranteeing judicial independence in Egypt. The paper also addressed the status of the judiciary in the 2014 Constitution, which included the minimum standards for judicial independence, as it addressed the judicial authority in Articles 185 to 191. It recognized the independence of the judiciary, the autonomy of judges, and their inability to be dismissed. It also stipulated that the Supreme Judicial Council should assume judicial affairs. The constitution did not include the judges’ demand to stop secondment and loan to non-judicial bodies, as this opens the door to interference in judicial affairs.
The paper then reviewed the attempts of the executive authority to control the judiciary, especially the deprivation of the authority to appoint the heads of the supreme courts (the Court of Cassation – the Supreme Administrative Court), especially since the Court of Cassation invalidated mass death sentences for their conflict with the standards of a fair trial, and ruled that police investigations were insufficient as evidence of conviction. On the other hand, the Supreme Administrative Court issued many rulings supporting freedoms, the most important of which was the ruling invalidating the concession of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir.
Also, the appointment of the Public Prosecutor, who heads the Public Prosecution, from the Supreme Judicial Council, so that their appointment is the authority of the President of the Republic.
The paper discussed the state’s issuance of Law 13 of 2017, which granted the President of the Republic the right to appoint the heads of the supreme courts from among the three most senior vice presidents of the court, a law that was widely opposed by judges.
The paper monitored the constitutional amendments of 2019, which changed the nature of the judiciary, as it gave the President of the Republic the authority to appoint the heads of the Supreme Courts from among the seven most senior vice presidents of the court, and stripped the authority to appoint the Public Prosecutor from the Judicial Council, and his appointment became the authority of the President of the Republic from among three candidates.
The constitution also stipulated the formation of an institutional entity, the Supreme Judicial Council, which brings together the judicial bodies and authorities, and is headed by the President of the Republic, and this entity has broad powers that dominate the affairs of the judiciary.
The paper addressed the legal amendments that followed the constitutional amendments to put those amendments into effect, including Law 77 of 2019, which gave the President of the Republic the authority to appoint the heads of the Supreme Courts and the Public Prosecutor.
The paper concluded with recommendations that it deems necessary for the independence of the judiciary in Egypt.
To view the full paper, please open the link upload/Introduction2.pdf
