At a press conference on Thursday, the president of Egypt's Judges Club, Ahmed al-Zend, announced parts of a proposed law that the club has prepared for regulating the judicial system. “We have revised 85 articles of the law,” he said, adding that the amendments reduce the power of the minister of justice over judges, and assigns the right of judicial inspection to the Supreme Judicial Council, rather than the Ministry of Justice. Zend reiterated that the judiciary in Egypt is fully independent. “That is why I call it a proposal for consolidating the independence of the judiciary,” he said. The proposal considers seniority in assigning judicial posts. “The president of the Supreme Judicial Council will be the most senior judge,” he explained. He added that the attorney general should be chosen by the two most senior vice presidents of the Court of Cassation, while the two most senior presidents of the courts of appeal are to be nominated by their respective courts and the two most senior assistant attorney generals. He also said the proposal abolishes the transfer of judges between government institutions, but allows for their being seconded to other countries. Translated from the Arabic Edition
