Will the Bar Association lose its independence once again? Mona El-Nahhas weighs the odds Lawyers are today planning to hold a general conference at the headquarters of their syndicate to announce their rejection of a draft law prepared by the Bar Association Chairman Sameh Ashour without the syndicate council's knowledge. The meeting will be preceded by a sit-in which will start at noon to protest against the law which lawyers argue is a form of judicial sequestration which the Bar Association suffered from for nearly five years. It was only in 2001 that the Bar Association, after a long legal battle, did manage to lift sequestration imposed in 1996, and stage the first elections of the council. The new draft, which includes 42 amendments to the current law regulating the legal profession, was referred to the People's Assembly's legislative committee. Discussion of the draft is expected to start in the first week of June. The first article of the draft law, which has angered an apparent majority of lawyers, calls for forming a temporary council that would include in its membership the current chairman of the Bar Association and chairmen of the branch syndicates in the provinces. The temporary council, states the article, will sort out voters' lists and administer the syndicate's affairs for a maximum one-year period until a date for elections is set. The call to form the council came after the Administrative Court ruled in February that results of the Bar Association's elections held in February 2005, which resulted in a Nasserist chairman and an Islamist-controlled council, were null and void. The court ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by two-thirds of the syndicate council members who belong to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and who claimed that elections were rigged in favour of Ashour. The ruling, which took three years to pass, states that the existing syndicate council should be dissolved. "Instead of forming a temporary council, why shouldn't they call for the election of a new council?" Gamal Tageddin, a member of the syndicate council, told Al-Ahram Weekly. A majority of lawyers argue that Ashour appealed for the draft law after realising he would lose in any future elections. Lawyers, mainly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) camp, insist the new draft, especially its first article, is a conspiracy plotted by Ashour and the government to prevent MB lawyers from running in the syndicate. "Bearing in mind that around 80 per cent of the chairmen of the branch syndicates are active members of the ruling National Democratic Party [NDP], the dimensions of the conspiracy has become very clear," Tageddin said. Last week, 22 chairmen of branch syndicates sent a letter to People's Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour urging him to approve the new draft which, they wrote, reflects the will of lawyers to achieve their long cherished aims. "Their aim is to marginalise the role of the Bar Association at a time which is witnessing significant political events such as inheritance of political power, extension of the emergency law and soaring prices," said Mohamed Tosson, deputy chairman of the Bar Association and a prominent MB member. MB members were not alone in standing firmly against the draft. Members of the syndicate council who previously supported Ashour were disappointed after Ashour excluded them from membership in the temporary council. They announced their rejection of the draft and of any legislation which would threaten the independence of the syndicate. The draft was also criticised for including other articles which are said to give the syndicate chairman unlimited power. For example, the draft stipulates that the syndicate chairman, without consulting council members, has the right to refer lawyers to disciplinary courts when violations are committed. And while placing very strict conditions on Egyptians willing to join the syndicate, the draft opened the door wide to other Arab lawyers. "We will not stand helplessly by, leaving them to undermine the syndicate and deprive lawyers of their free will," Tosson said, noting that lawyers vowed to continue their struggle until what was described as the ill-reputed law is repealed. "All options will be open starting from staging non-stop sit-ins and ultimately leading to a general work stoppage," Tosson said. On Sunday, hundreds of lawyers wearing black gowns had planned to organise a "funeral" march towards the People's Assembly but were prevented by security. The protesters were then obliged to return to the syndicate's headquarters where they staged a sit-in. On Monday, lawyers from branch syndicates staged a peaceful sit-in at the Bar Association. Within the next few days, a group of lawyers, including Tageddin and Tosson are expected to meet Sorour to press for the withdrawal of the draft from parliament.
