The justice minister has come under attack after referring two judges for investigation after they allegedly criticised the military, reports Mona El-Nahhas During last Friday's general assembly at the Sharqiya Judges' Club members issued a statement calling on Minister of Justice Abdel-Aziz El-Guindi to apologise for referring two senior judges to investigation. The general assembly, which had convened to elect a new council and to review the club's budget, was quickly subsumed in the furore surrounding the Justice Minister's referrals. A majority of the club's members insisted the issue should top the meeting agenda. The controversy began on 29 May when El-Guindi issued a decree referring the head of Giza Criminal Court Alaa Shawqi and judge Hassan El-Naggar for investigation. The judges were accused of insulting the military judiciary and, by extension, the military, in statements made to Al-Jazeera Mubasher satellite channel. They are also accused of talking to the media without first obtaining the permission of the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC). Ahmed Mekki, deputy chief justice of the Court of Cassation and member of the SJC, has poured scorn on the charges. The SJC, he says, has no authority to instruct judges when, and when not, they are free to express an opinion. Nor, he says, should the opinions of those judges who do seek permission before speaking be taken seriously. The justice minister's decree followed a memorandum submitted by the military prosecutor- general criticising the media statements given by the two judges as "an insult to the military judiciary". While being interviewed by Al-Jazeera El-Naggar and Shawqi had insisted that civilians should be tried before civil, not military, courts, in order to guarantee their rights. The jurisdiction of the latter, they continued, extended only to military personnel accused of military crimes. In the wake of the 25 January Revolution thousands of civilians have been referred to military courts. The reason, claim military authorities, is that the critical period through which Egypt is passing demands rapid rulings. El-Naggar told Al - Ahram Weekly that his statements had simply clarified that the civil judiciary should act to defend the rights of the citizens. "When I called for civilians to be tried before civil courts the intention was not to insult the military judiciary. It is, after all, a rule applied in all civilised countries. Even the military council, aware that rulings passed by military courts are not recognised by the international community, opted to try former president Hosni Mubarak before a civil court." In addition, says El-Naggar, the military judiciary is affiliated to the Defence Ministry making it part and parcel of the executive authority. El-Naggar expressed surprise at the position adopted by the justice minister. The military prosecutor-general has the right to complain, he says, but it is "unacceptable for the minister of justice to allow himself to become the tool with which the military council seeks to intimidate judges". After his appointment to the cabinet last March El-Guindi issued a series of statements in support of judicial independence. "His actions are in complete contradiction with those earlier statements," Shawqi told the general assembly. "Instead of defending judicial independence the new minister has opted to defer to the military council which assigned him the post." "The Ministry of Justice can no longer be trusted now it has made clear its willingness to use disciplinary measures as a form of intimidation," says Nagui Derbala, former deputy chairman of the Cairo Judges Club. "It's time that the Judicial Inspection Department is moved from the Justice Ministry to the Supreme Judiciary Council." Cairo Judges' Club has itself been criticised for its silence in the current crisis. The absence of reformist figures from the club's governing council -- elected under the former regime -- has led many to question its legitimacy as a representative of judges. Rather than call an emergency general assembly the chairman of Cairo Judges' Club, Ahmed El-Zend, is reported to have sent an apology to the military prosecutor- general. The result of elections at the Sharqiya Judges' Club sent a clear message to the authorities. El-Naggar won the chairmanship with 218 votes, compared to 89 cast for his rival, Abdel-Moeti Hassan. Cairo Judges' Club is due to hold its own elections in November. Many commentators expect to see a rerun of the Sharqiya result, with reformist judges taking control.
