The Lawyers against Legal Fees Front will stage a sit-in today at the Bar Association in protest against the bill on increasing the legal fees, which is considered by the People's Assembly (parliament) today. A statement by the front described the bill as "unfair", confirming that the lawyers would go to the courts during the day, issue a daily bulletin denouncing it and hold a meeting in the evening for all lawyers.
The statement emphasized that the lawyers will turn the Bar Association into a "castle" against the "unfair" bill, pointing out that the victory will be never gained by the lazy, so they would work hard to abort this bill. "We will not allow anyone to change the direction of our compass against this "suspicious" bill," the statement said, calling on all lawyers to close up ranks against the draft law. For his part, the People's Assembly Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour agreed to convene a hearing to be attended by a number of lawyers to discuss the draft law in the coming few days. This meeting is scheduled to be held in the PA Legislative Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Amaal Othman.
MP Talaat Sadat said this bill would affect the legal profession, so the lawyers' opinion should be taken into account. "The lawyers would be invited regardless of the differences or electoral competition," Sadat said, pointing out that the lawyers should close up ranks so that this law will meet their hopes and aspirations and the Ministry of Justice's policy to enhance the performance of the judiciary. Some 1500 lawyers staged a strike before Beni Suef Court of First Instance in protest against the bill. They chanted slogans and carried banners criticizing the bill, which places a new burden on the shoulders of the people and lawyers alike. Mahmoud Youssef, chairman of the Bar Association branch in Qalioubia, has accused the government of exploiting the union vacuum and the absence of an elected board of directors to pass the bill. He blamed the government for referring the bill to parliament without recourse to the lawyers and the Bar Association. The increase in the fee of litigation procedures is unjustified.
