The appointment of female law graduates to the administrative judiciary is far from settled, reports Mona El-Nahhas With the exception of two judges, 317 judges, all members of the State Council's general assembly, voted on Monday against the appointment of female law graduates in the administrative judiciary, at least for the time being. The general assembly instead decided to assign 10 members to follow up on the issue. In a statement issued following a meeting of an emergency general assembly, the judges rejected any interference in the internal affairs of the State Council. The statement also refused to recognise the decree passed last week by the chairman of the council, Judge Mohamed El-Husseini, who ordered a completion of the procedures of appointing female law graduates to judicial posts at the council. El-Husseini was sharply criticised by State Council judges for disregarding the opinions of the special committee members and passing a decree against the will of the majority. The special committee, composed of six members headed by El-Husseini, is the highest administrative body of the State Council and must endorse appointment decrees before they are presented to President Hosni Mubarak. During a stormy meeting held on 22 February, four members of the special committee backed the recommendation passed by the State Council's general assembly on 15 February, which called for delaying the measures needed to appoint female law graduates at the administrative judiciary pending further study of the issue. Still, El-Husseini made his own decision, which he said would "safeguard the reputation of Egypt and that of the State Council". While being widely hailed by women activists for backing women's rights, El-Husseini's decree angered State Council judges who called for holding an emergency general assembly on 1 March to decide how to reply to El-Husseini. El-Husseini's decision to delay the general assembly meeting was disregarded and the general assembly was held at its appointed date. Members of the special committee are expected to meet again within the next few weeks to give their final say on the issue. On Monday evening, another general assembly of the State Council Judges Club was held. The general assembly asked its board members to take the necessary steps which would conform with the decree issued by the State Council's special committee. In a statement, the general assembly expressed its condemnation "of all forms of ideological intimidation recently practised against State Council judges," which it said hinders them from expressing their views or running their internal affairs. In the wake of the 15 February general assembly the State Council has been subjected to severe criticism. High-ranking judges at the State Council defended the assembly, arguing its decision was based on practical grounds and was not at all directed against women. Defending its decision, it cited that even though women are entitled to a six-year leave of absence to care for their children, and a year's leave to accompany their husbands if they take up employment overseas, such conditions of employment were untenable given the backlog of cases. The State Council was accused of practising discrimination against women and of violating the constitution. Human rights organisations issued heated statements, organised sit-ins and began mobilising public opinion against the assembly. "It's a black decree in the history of justice in Egypt," the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights said in a statement signed by more than 300 public figures. The decree, said women's rights activist Nehad Abul-Qomsan, will deprive women of the right to be appointed judges after they managed to prove themselves in the judiciary. In 2003, Tahani El-Gebali became the first woman to be appointed a judge at the Constitutional Court. In 2007 more than 30 women were appointed judges after winning the approval of the Higher Council for Judicial Bodies. The State Council itself is not against the appointment of women judges. In August last year, the State Council announced its desire to appoint both male and female graduates of law to junior judicial posts. Graduates from law faculties in 2008 and 2009 had applied for posts, going through all the required procedures including tests and interviews. It was only in mid-January when this was ordered stopped after the State Council's special committee expressed its reservations about appointing female graduates and appealed to the general assembly for an opinion, triggering the current crisis.
