CAIRO: The People's Assembly (PA) approved Sunday an increase in lawsuit fees, a move which stirred much controversy when proposed earlier this year. Under the new law, the fees for filing lawsuits and issuing legal documents will increase by 1-5 percent. The fees for financial compensation lawsuits were also raised, but will be paid only if the plaintiff is awarded the compensation. The court will receive LE 1,000 for cases where the plaintiff is asking for a compensation of LE 40,000; and LE 2,000 when the demanded amount ranges from LE 40,000 to 100,000; LE 5,000 for lawsuits ranging between LE 100,000 to LE 1 million, and LE 10,000 for those exceeding LE 1 million. The law was given the green light by opposition members as well as MPs affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). "The current [version] of the law is a tremendous improvement from the draft law that was approved in the Shoura Council [Egypt's Upper House of Parliament] last year, Hussein Ibrahim, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) parliamentary bloc, told Daily News Egypt. When the Shoura Council first debated the law, the proposed increase in fees ranged from 5 to 10 percent, which was lowered to between 1 and 5 percent by Minister of Justice Mamdouh Marei. Marei also lowered the proposed fees on financial compensation lawsuits, which were set to double in the original draft law, and stipulated that plaintiffs only pay the court if they are awarded the compensation, not in advance as originally proposed. "We [opposition members] asked for more reductions, but we accept the current law, Ibrahim added. During Sunday's parliamentary session, Sobhy Saleh, an MP affiliated with the Brotherhood, likened the amendments made to the originally proposed law to "a death sentence that was reduced to 15 years in jail. Marie said the new law fulfills the needs of both lawyers and the Ministry of Justice. On the other hand, the Lawyers' Syndicate said it remains adamant in its disapproval of the new law, according to lawyer Ahmed Al-Sayed. "The government chose to pass the law at this time knowing fully well that lawyers are busy with syndicate elections, he claimed. He expects lawyers to strongly oppose the law, which he said may lead the government to rescind on its decision. Moufid Shehab, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs, said that the government will move forward with the necessary regulations to implement the new law. Al-Sayed claims that the higher fees will deter underprivileged citizens from demanding justice and will put many lawyers out of work. Last March, lawyers nationwide suspended their criminal court cases and called for a one-day strike in protest at the proposed increase. Under the old law, which was issued in 1944 and had not undergone any amendments since, fees ranged between LE 1 and LE 5 and plaintiffs demanding financial compensation paid no more than LE 100.
