CAIRO: The expected amendments to the Judicial Authority Law triggered a volley of accusations between the Judges Club on the one hand and the committee formed by the head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on the other. The committee is led by Justice Ahmed Mekky, former head of the Alexandria Cassation Court. Justice Mahmoud Al-Sherif, secretary general of the Judges Club, issued a statement on a closed group for judges on Facebook, describing the committee as "authoritarian." He also said the committee ignores the club, which represents judges, and uses people from outside the community of judges to exert public pressure for personal interests. The committee, in turn, responded with a statement from its official spokesperson, Saeed Mohamed, refuting allegations that it included people from outside the judges community. It also described accusations against the committee and the head of the SJC, Justice Hossam Al-Gheryany, as "inappropriate." Justice Ahmed Al-Zend, chairman of the Judges Club, said the Club was the sole representative of judges and the only body entitled to amend the law, rejecting Mekky's committee shortly after it was formed. He then announced the formation of a separate committee after a meeting with heads of chapters in various governorates. The Judges Club version of amendments will be presented to an emergency general assembly on Sept. 9. "There has always been a trend to present amendments to the law to a general assembly of judges. We always say the judges are independent seeking more independence, and the debate is over who is supposed to draft these amendments," Al-Sherif said. "There is no conflict but we have different viewpoints regarding the rules for appointing new assistants to the public prosecutor, the head of the SJC and payments," he added. Mohamed said they did not ignore the Judges club and that they were the first entity elicit suggestions, adding that Al-Gheryany previously said the committee was formed by him "personally" and that everyone is free to form their own committees. "What has the club achieved until now? Nothing but statements that they met the Prime Minister and discussed the matter, which was later found to be untrue. Please don't stop us from getting the law we always dreamed of," he said. Mekky's committee has been holding meetings and receiving suggestions from judges on the desired amendments, saying that his mission did not go beyond collecting opinions and drafting the amendments with no authority to implement the draft. The suggested changes of the committee include limiting the number of years that judges can spend outside Egypt on loan to six years once during their service; appointing the deputy heads of the Court of Cassation through direct elections rather than through seniority; and banning the appointment of judges in government or legislative posts to prevent any influence on judges from the executive authority. The committee is also studying suggestions to bring the judiciary inspection body under the authority of the SJC rather than the Ministry of Justice; giving the council, not the president, the power to appoint the Prosecutor General and stipulate that he is a career judge; cancelling the state security prosecution altogether and appointing new judges based on the results of written examinations to avoid favoritism. "No one can impose their will on judges, take authoritarian decisions or deny them freedom of expression…what saddened me was using people from outside the judges community to obstruct the general assembly," Al-Sherif said. Mohamed quoted previous statements from the Judges Club saying that it only provides services and cannot interfere in the work of the legislative authority. This was in 2006 when the groups calling for judicial independence presented a draft law including the desired amendments.
