CAIRO: Standing before a row of black-clad central security police, lawyers from all over Cairo crammed into the small forecourt of the Lawyers' Syndicate to protest against proposed amendments to the lawyers' laws. The protest comes on the eve of what is expected to be the final vote on the amendments, which, according to sources at the Lawyers' Syndicate board, were composed solely by syndicate head Sameh Ashour. The amendments to the current law focus on the board of elected representatives of the Lawyers' Syndicate. Elections were due to be held this year, but in a court ruling last month they were cancelled indefinitely. The 2004 elections, which were riddled with vote rigging from all sides, including accusations against Ashour himself, were also declared invalid. A court ruling in 2005 confirmed that several cases of rigging, which included the mysterious disappearance of six ballot boxes, marred the election. However, no follow-up investigation was undertaken, nor was anyone, throughout the previous three years of the current term, officially accused of vote rigging With the invalidity of the previous elections now officially declared, the current president Ashour can legally stand for what will effectively be a third term in office. However, until the elections take place, he will form a syndicate board with presidents of sub-syndicates standing in for the other representatives. Yet many believe this is a strategy hatched between government authorities and current head Ashour, with the aim of stifling the independence of the syndicate and subjecting it to the state of "sequestration and a government appointed guardianship. "This will not serve the interests of the profession, Mohammed Kamel, vice-president of the syndicate and Wafd party member, told Daily News Egypt. "Local syndicate presidents represent their local governorate; it is not their job to drive forward the profession itself. "In any regular system, should the previous elections be declared invalid, the syndicate naturally falls under a board of judges until the next election, which should be this year. "Instead, it is to be put under what we believe to be a government appointed body headed by Ashour. What is more, Ashour, who has become an instrument of the regime, can have his presidency renewed at any point because the new laws do not state a maximum term, Kamel said. Kamel is also among those who object to amendments seeking to alter the electoral administration. "Normally, the elections take place on the premises of various syndicates, but the amendments propose we can have elections anywhere, and more seriously, without the presence of a judge, he said. "This is another attempt to silence the Bar Association, which has always been a podium in Egypt where people can stand up and say what they think, such as asking direct questions about the location of 'disappeared peoples.' Many lawyers also feel strongly that among the proposed amendments is an item which will effectively allow foreign lawyers to practice in Egypt without the necessary qualifications. "We have a large number of government tenders that are organized here in Egypt by foreign companies, by foreign lawyers, said Kamel. "What they are suggesting in article 13 of the proposed amendments is for reciprocal agreements between the Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice. We are completely against the Ministry of Justice having a role in our Bar Association. This is something you could never find anywhere in the world. However, not all syndicate lawyers stand against the amendments. Lawyer Mahmoud Hosny, a supporter of Ashour, calls the protests "a blatant symptom of fear by the Muslim Brotherhood, who occupy 15 of the 24 seats on the Lawyers' Syndicate board. "Opponents of the new laws call them a 'sequestration' of the syndicate on the part of Ashour and the government. However, it is merely a brave display by Ashour of loyalty to his profession, said Hosny. "After the May ruling confirmed that the previous elections were invalid, Ashour, as president, naturally wanted to restore administration to the syndicate as opposed to having it ruled over by a board of judges, he added. Hosny told Daily News Egypt that the laws propose a return to the 2001 Syndicate Board for six months to a year, whereupon elections will be called. "The Brotherhood fear they have lost their popularity. They know that elections are knocking at the door, and are stirring up fear to secure a position in the race. The issue of foreign lawyers practicing in Egypt is also being used as a tool to fear-monger. Hosny claims that this article has been removed. "What is now being put forward is a reciprocal agreement with other Arab countries that will allow Arab lawyers to practice anywhere in the Arab world with minimum measures. There are thousands of Egyptian lawyers filing papers in the Gulf countries who can't work due to procedures. The new laws will benefit these lawyers immensely. Yet as much as supporters of the amendments try to quell fears among lawyers and press alike, the underhanded methods taken to secure the implementation of the amendments lies at the heart of lawyers anger. "The amendments are not only unconstitutional, but they were presented to the People's Assembly behind our backs, said Mohammed Gharib, lawyer and Muslim Brotherhood member. "Whatever positive aspects there are to the new laws, they are irrelevant because in a democratic system, which the syndicates are proclaimed to be, they should be discussed in the forum of the General Assembly, not formulated by one man, he added. At press time, lawyers were planning to walk to the Presidential Palace to continue their peaceful protest before returning to the syndicate.
