Judges and Political Reform in EgyptNathalie Bernard-Maugiron If justice in the Arab world is often marked by a lack of autonomy of the judiciary toward the executive power, one of the characteristic features of the Egyptian judiciary lies in its strength and activism in the defense of democratic values. Judges have been struggling for years to enhance their independence from the executive power and exercise full supervision of the electoral process to achieve transparent elections. Recent years have seen growing tensions in Egypt between the judiciary and the executive authority. In order to gain concessions, judges went as far as to threaten to boycott the supervision of the presidential and legislative elections in the fall of 2005 and to organize sit-ins in the streets. The struggle between the two powers was in full swing in the spring of 2006, when a conference convened in Cairo in early April on the theme of the role of judges in the process of political reform in Egypt and the Arab world. The conference was organized by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) in cooperation with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD). This book is a collection of papers from the conference dealing with Egypt. They allow a better understanding of the role judges are playing in the process of democratic reform in Egypt as well as the limits of their struggle. Contributors: Nabil Abd al-Fattah, Ahmad Abd al-Hafiz, Maher Abu al-Einein, Hafez Abu Saada, Hisham Al-Bastawisi, Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron, Negad Al-Bora'i, Nathan Brown, Nathan, Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyed, Abdallah Khalil, Mahmud Al-Khudayri, Mahmud, Isabelle Lendrevie, Tamir Moustafa, Mohamed Al-Sayed Said, Atef Shahat Said, Younis Sherif |
Contents
A Political Analysis of the Egyptian Judges Revolt | 19 |
The Law on Judicial Authority and Judicial Independence | 45 |
The General Prosecutor between the Judicial | 59 |
The Role of the Judges Club in Enhancing the Independence | 111 |
What Can the Judiciary Do? | 133 |
The Politicization of the Judges | 151 |
The Crisis of the Efficiency of the Judiciary | 167 |
Judges and Acts of Sovereignty | 181 |
The Governments Nonexecution of Judicial Decisions | 199 |
Civil Society and the Judiciary | 213 |
The Judicial Authority and Civil Society | 227 |
The Relationship between Judges and Human Rights | 243 |
Conclusion | 269 |
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According to Article accused acts of sovereignty Administrative Litigation Administrative Prosecution adopted Al-Misri al-yawm al-Rifa'i al-Wafd amendment appointed Arab candidates civil society organizations Club club's committee competence Counselor Court of Administrative Court of Appeal Court of Cassation court rulings decided decision Decree Law democratic draft law Egypt electoral process emergency established executive authority filed human rights institutions issued judges judi judicial authority judicial bodies judicial independence judicial supervision judiciary jurisdiction Khedive Law on Judicial lawyers legitimacy military courts minister of justice ministry mixed courts Mubarak Muslim Brotherhood NGOs Nubar Pasha Office of Public opposition parliamentary elections People's Assembly political parties political role polling stations powers president Presidential Elections Commission prosecutor provisions Public Prosecution Qudah referendum reform regime regulations republic security courts social supervision of elections Supreme Administrative Court Supreme Constitutional Court Supreme Judicial Council syndicates tion violation Wafd Party