A conference of the heads of Africa's supreme constitutional courts concludes Tuesday in Cairo, attended by judges from more than 23 African nations who met to share experiences and expertise. The conference — the first of its kind — was inaugurated Monday by Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported. Attendees discussed sharing expertise in constitutional judiciary, means to bolster cooperation between supreme courts in Africa and training sessions for judges. The court representatives are expected to sign a number of cooperation protocols. In his inaugural speech, Ismail said the conference enforced commitment to the independence of law and respect for rights and freedoms in Africa. The head of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razek said Monday that the goal of the conference was to share visions and ideas between courts and support specialised research on legal affairs of mutual interest. Abdel-Razek's deputy Adel Sherif said the conference would discuss challenges facing African courts, including corruption, terrorism and the protection of women and children, as well as how to protect human rights. The conference is being hosted at the headquarters of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo. Eight heads of African constitutional courts arrived Sunday in Cairo from Sudan, Ghana, Somalia, Mauritania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Angola and the Comoro Islands, in addition to two deputy heads from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who arrived on an official visit to Egypt.
