CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak said yesterday that he is vigilant about the independence of the judicial system in Egypt and that it should be protected from any threats to its impartiality and neutrality or any action doubting the credibility of its judges. Mubarak's words addressed a group of judges during a speech at the Court of Cassation to mark the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Higher Judicial Council. Judicial independence isn t a gift from anyone; it is one of the basic foundations of the constitution and society, Mubarak said. Judicial affairs should remain in the hands of judges and should not be a topic of discussion in the media, he added. Mubarak issued a law in 1984, three years after he became president, reinstating the Higher Judicial Council including senior judges. This came 15 years after the council was dissolved following a crisis involving foreign interference in 1969. I believed back then that the reestablishment of this council was a victory for the judicial system and judges immunity; the council returned with more authority and specializations than before, including providing immunity for public prosecutors, Mubarak said. In 2006 we took a further step towards reinforcing judicial independence with an important amendment that made the council s opinion obligatory in anything that has to do with judicial and public prosecution affairs rather than serving as a consultative body, he added. The Egyptian judicial system will remain a fortress of justice and its judges will remain a source of pride for all Egyptians, he said.
