CAIRO: Cutting funds to the Judges' Club and ignoring the organization's recommendations in decisions that directly affect the judiciary, are the two main reasons for the tension between the Judges' Club and the Minister of Justice, Ahmed Mekki, chairman of the Judges' Club s branch in Alexandria told The Daily Star Egypt. The club has received no funds since December 2005 and our opinion was not sought in the amendment of some civilian laws, said Mekki. The whole problem, said to Mekki, started when the government was discussing the new political rights law and the new judges law [that pushed the retirement age up to 70]. "The government has completely ignored the judges opinions on these two issues, he said. He indicated that judges, being part of the community, must express their opinions on issues that concern them. In a previous interview with The Daily Star Egypt, Zakaria Abdel Aziz, president of the Judges' Club, said that judges were frustrated and were in deep sorrow when the People's Assembly (PA) voted in favor of the new judges law that pushed the retirement age up to 70, which they felt was imposed on them by force. On the other hand, Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah, PA member affiliated with the National Democratic Party (NDP), told The Daily Star Egypt that the Egyptian constitution has explicitly indicated that the legislative, executive and judiciary authorities should not interfere with each other. However, I currently see that our judges, with all due respect, are interfering with the legislative authority, Kwaitah said. Some of them are even beginning to hold political posts, which completely contradicts their role as judges. The judges are the ones in charge of our justice system which we all cherish and respect and judges should focus more on making the justice system meet the highest standards, Kwaitah added.
