The legal seminar on the Future Role of the Court of Cassation in Light of Amendments to Appeal Mechanisms concluded on February 20, 2025. Organized by the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, the forum was held at the center’s headquarters, featuring insights from Professor Negad Al-Borai, a cassation lawyer and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue, and Professor Osama Khalil, a cassation lawyer. Participating in the seminar were a host of lawyers and law experts. The forum culminated in a series of key recommendations:

Recommendations:

         1-         The necessity of the cessation of any measures that may compromise the Court of Cassation’s role as a legal authority tasked with overseeing procedural legitimacy and safeguarding its integrity.

         2-         Halting any amendments to the laws governing appeal procedures before the Court of Cassation, thereby guaranteeing its fundamental role in assessing the compliance of criminal rulings with proper legal standards.

         3-         Advocating for the exemption of the Court of Cassation from engaging in the substantive examination of rulings, allowing it to remain dedicated to its primary function of ensuring the correct application of the law.

         4-         Extending the Court of Cassation’s geographical jurisdiction by establishing additional circuits across various regions of the Republic to facilitate easier access to judicial services while upholding the constitutional right to bring litigation bodies closer to citizens.

         5-         Reviewing the prerequisites for registering lawyers before the Court of Cassation, recognizing their key role in shaping and advancing legal jurisprudence.

         6-         The necessity of the application of merit-based criteria in the selection of Court of Cassation members, rather than restricting appointments to elections from the general assemblies of the courts.

A symposium entitled “The Impact of the Issuance Articles on the Draft Criminal Procedures Law” was held at the Arab Center on Monday, December 30, 2024. The symposium addressed the issue of the issuance articles of the draft Criminal Procedures Law and their danger in terms of their approval of the continuation of special criminal procedures as they are, meaning the continued validity of procedural texts in laws such as the Anti-Terrorism Law, the Terrorist Entities Regulation Law, the Anti-Information Technology Crimes Law, the Emergency Law, and others. With what these special procedures include in terms of a departure from general procedural rules, and their waste of all legal guarantees for suspects and accused, or their violation of the standards of criminal justice and fair trials, and what they also carry in terms of broad powers and authorities for the Public Prosecution and the security services without real judicial oversight.

Discussion Panel Remote Trials between Legitimacy and Regulation

The Arab Center held a discussion panel on Remote Trials between Legitimacy and Regulation

The speakers were:

Mr. Malek Adly, Cassation Lawyer and Director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights

Mr. Nasser Amin, Cassation Lawyer and Director General of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession

On Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 6:00 PM, at the headquarters of the Arab Center .

The Justice Support Foundation (JSF) affiliated with the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP) held a round table of law experts and human rights defenders, Tuesday, 16, 2024, discussing the law amending criminal procedures law in order to implement the right to litigate on two levels in criminal lawsuits approved by the Parliament on the 16th of January 2024. Attended and spoke at the round table: Professor Essam Al-Islambouli, the cassation lawyer and constitutional expert, Mr. Malek Adly, the cassation lawyer and director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, and Professor Hassan Al-Azhari, the cassation lawyer and director of the Masar Foundation, spoke.

**to read more recommendations