Egypt’s Judges Offer Own View over Constitutional Amendments Next Week

 Judicial sources said that the Judges’ Club’s committee- entrusted with formulating constitutional amendments- headed by counselor Mahmoud Reda Al Khodairi may finish its task during next week, something that may be met with a controversy in the Egyptian arenas.
 
The committee focused- in the amendments that will be made public- on Article 88 of the constitution which is related to the judicial supervision over the elections, as it expressed its rejection to restricting this role to supervising only general committees.
 
Its response to the regime’s insistence on sticking to the proposed amendment to Article 88, will be calling on the judges to boycott the elections because their participation will give a legitimacy to election fraud, according the sources
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Also, the committee will present the judges view regarding amending Article 93 of the constitution related to the Court of Cassation’s power in judging in the membership of parliament members, as it will demand the right of the Administrative Court regarding this, as long as this is concerned with judging in several parts of the election process; this will mean excluding the Court of Cassation from judging in the validity a membership of any MP to avoid in conflict of powers and authorities between the Court of Cassation and the Administrative Court, with obliging the People’s Assembly to approving and carrying out these judgements.
 
In a related context, the Judges’ Club board will discuss, in its coming meeting, the amendments that the government introduced into the Law of Criminal Procedures and the Procedural Law and the Justice Ministry’s refusing to send a copy of it to the club to discuss it, and escalating the attack against the club over its attitude towards appointing women as judges.
 
Also, the meeting will discuss intensifying the tours of the club board in the governorates to take a unified judicial attitude concerning judges affairs and not allowing any other authority to offend the judges. The sources said that these tours may be decisive in settling the issue of a possible call for holding a general assembly for the judges, in order to study the affairs of the judges and the attitude towards the constitutional amendments .
 
Counselor Mahmoud Al Khodairi, the chairman of Alexandrian judges and head of the Judges’ Club committee entrusted with formulating the constitutional amendments, told Ikhwanweb:” The constitutional amendments will dominate the club’s next week discussions within framework of the judges’ reformist demands.
 
“We will focus- in our discussions on the constitutional amendments- on Article 88 of the constitution related to the judicial supervision over the elections, because some sources confirm that there are plans for canceling the judicial supervision over the elections ” added Al Khodairi .
 
Regarding the judges reaction in case the judicial supervision were canceled, Al Khodairi said” this is what we will discuss in the club board during its next week meeting.