Judges prepare themselves to resist attempts to further compromise their independence, writes Mona El-Nahhas The judicial inspection department, an affiliate of the Justice Ministry, referred 20 judges to a disciplinary committee this week. If the committee finds that the judges have been failing to perform their duties to the required standard they face losing their jobs. According to leading members of the Judges' Club, those referred to the committee do not belong to the group of reformist judges who have been calling for greater judicial independence, meaning that the process is unlikely to be politically motivated. While the Judges' Club has refused to offer unconditional support for the 20 judges, conceding that grounds for an enquiry might exist, it has made public its concern over the way in which the 20 were interrogated. "We are not against questioning corrupt judges or even dismissing them. What we are against is the interference of the executive authority in such an affair," judge Hesham Geneina, secretary-general of Egypt's Judges' Club, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Questioning judges and assessing their performance should, he argued, be the responsibility of an independent body and not a department affiliated to the Justice Ministry. For years, judges have been pressing for the judicial inspection department to be separated from the Justice Ministry. The state has turned a deaf ear to the judges' repeated calls that any inspection authority be affiliated with the Supreme Judiciary Council. The judiciary law, amended in June 2006 against the will of the majority of judges, saw the Justice Ministry retain its control over the judicial inspection department. Not only that, but Justice Minister Mamdouh Marei established a second department to examine complaints filed against senior judges. Under the amended judiciary law, the judicial inspection department has no authority to conduct investigations involving senior judges. Complaints filed against senior judges, according to the law, must be referred to the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC). The newly founded department has stirred controversy in judicial circles where it is believed its role is in flagrant violation of the law it purports to uphold. Judge Mohamed El-Hereibi recently filed a lawsuit before the Administrative Court suing the justice minister for establishing an illegal department and calling for its abolition. The Administrative Court is expected to give a ruling on the case within days. El-Hereibi, together with 12 senior judges, was secretly inspected by members of the new department. The minister has been reluctant to either deny or confirm the existence of the secret department. "As usual he prefers silence," Geneina said, adding that judges had failed to secure a copy of the ministerial decree relating to the foundation of the department. Meanwhile the virulent campaign against the integrity of judges critical of the regime continues. Its latest victim is Mahmoud El-Khodeiri, chairman of the Alexandria Judges Club, who recently described the People's Assembly as a "slave to the executive authority". "The People's Assembly has abandoned its supervisory and legislative roles to become a body that takes orders from the executive," said El-Khodeiri, given the manner in which the assembly rubberstamped recent constitutional amendments as proof of such an assertion. El-Khodeiri has refused to apologise for his statements, saying that criticisms of the performance of the People's Assembly are meant to encourage it to resume its responsibilities. "My intention is not to hurl insults at parliament," he noted. El-Khodeiri's statements were seized on by members of the NDP as an opportunity to get rid of a leading reformist among the judiciary. They hurried to file complaints before the SJC demanding disciplinary measures against El-Khodeiri. Geneina wonders at the fuss made by the NDP members following El-Khodeiri's statements given "we all know that parliament has been stripped of any effective role". Geneina thinks it unlikely the Supreme Judiciary Council will respond to complaints filed by NDP members and refer El-Khodeiri to a disciplinary court. "I don't think they would want to repeat the scenario of Hesham Bastawisi and Mahmoud Mekki", he notes. Last year, the SJC referred Bastawisi and Mekki -- who led judges in exposing vote rigging -- to a disciplinary court on charges of harming the image of the judiciary and of voicing political opinions to the press. Bastawisi's and Mekki's trial served only to fuel the anger of judges and helped mobilise the public behind them. "If the SJC takes any measure against El-Khodeiri, judges will move and support a man whose professional integrity is well known," concludes Geneina.
