CAIRO: Judges in Assiut, Minya and El-Mahalla disapproved of the position that their Judges Clubs presidents who support the new judges law pushing the retirement age up to 70, reported in Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. Ahmed Saber, a member of the Judges Club in Cairo told The Daily Star Egypt that theses Judges Clubs do not have the right to speak in that regard. Legally speaking, said Abdel Aziz Aidaros, senior associate at Al Shalakany law office, told The Daily Star Egypt the Judges Club's position is insignificant in this matter, since they are not represented in the People s Assembly where the decision will be taken. Hamdy Hassan, a member of parliament affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, told The Daily Star Egypt that the People s Assembly has indeed ignored the Judges Club in this matter. According to Hassan, the People's Assembly (PA) paid no attention to a survey conducted by the Judges Club in December 2006 that showed that out of 4,700 judges, only 500 voted to raise the retirement age. If the judges themselves reject the law, who is it made for? Hassan asked. The Judges Club in Cairo has also publicly declared its rejection of the new judges law. In a previous interview with Zakaria Abdel Aziz, president of the Judges Club in Cairo, he told The Daily Star Egypt that the new law is unfair to young judges. The age of 65 or even 68 is more than enough for judges to hold leading positions, Abdel Aziz said. However, if they still want to work, they can hold administrative jobs and leave the judging posts to the younger generations, just like university professors. There are no deans over 60, Abdel Aziz added. Aidaros agrees with Abdel Aziz s opinion, saying that there are lots of qualified people who have the right to become judges sometime before they die. The PA is expected to announce its final decision on the new judges law by next Monday, according to Saber.
