President Mohamed Morsi met members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as well as Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdallah on 22 April in an attempt to pacify judges who they say were insulted by the Muslim Brotherhood and accused for being corrupt. During the meeting, judges demanded an official apology from the group. Morsi confirmed his respect for the independence of the judicial system. He said he considered it among his constitutional duties to protect the judiciary against any violations or insults that might be directed at any of its “respectable personnel”. At the same time, Morsi requested judges to cooperate to monitor other judges who could be violating the law in order to prevent corruption within the system. According to a statement issued by the president's office, “the president does not accept any insults against any of the personalities of the judiciary, and he strives in all of his decisions to abide by the constitution and the law as well as respecting the rulings of the judiciary,” the statement said. In the same context, Minister of Justice Ahmed Mekki who submitted his resignation to protest against accusations directed at judges and the judicial system for being corrupt and recurrent calls for purging it has announced he would withdraw the resignation if Islamists stopped attacking judges and the judiciary system. Mekki's resignation came just one day after Morsi declared there will be a ministerial reshuffle. The minister issued a statement explaining the reasons behind Mekki's resignation. According to the statement, Mekki complained about Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations which took place on 19 April, calling for the purging of the judiciary system. He also condemned attempts to amend a judicial authority law aiming to decrease the age of retirement of judges to 60 instead of the current 70 years old. “The law was prepared without taking the ministry's opinion about it,” the statement said. On more than one occasion Mekki has objected publicly to decisions made by President Morsi regarding the judiciary system, including the dismissal of former prosecutor-general Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud and the appointment of Abdallah instead. Justice Ministry official spokesman Ahmed Roshdi slammed recent attacks by Islamist groups on the judicial system calling it a form of aggression against judicial authority. “Judicial independence does not just mean stopping the executive authority from pressuring the judiciary; it also includes defending the judiciary from public pressure and the influence of political groups,” said Roshdi. The official spokesman added, “the reform of constitutional institutions generally and the judiciary specifically will not come from outside by protesting, but rather from inside, according to rules and regulations as set down by the law.” Roshdi also pointed out that the age of retirement should not be used to realise political aims, and that any amendment to the judicial authority law should be made after several negotiations with judges whose opinion should be taken into consideration according to the terms of the constitution. In a press release issued by the Ministry of Justice, the ministry said that last January it had sent a letter to the Judges Club, regional judges clubs, the Supreme Judicial Council, the High Constitutional Court and all judicial agencies in Egypt to get their recommendations regarding the law. Abdallah, who attended the meeting with the president and SJC, is accused by the opposition and liberals of carrying out the orders of the president and Muslim Brotherhood. The appointment of Abdallah was regarded by the president's supporters as a move to accomplish one of the 25 January Revolution's goals by removing Abdel-Maguid, a Mubarak appointee. The president's opponents criticise Morsi for breaking the law by appointing Abdallah, a decision they believe only the SJC members are legally entitled to take. Last month, the Court of Appeals reversed President Morsi's November decision to appoint Abdallah. The SJC called on Abdallah to leave his position following the court order. Nevertheless, Abdallah is still in his post. According to the law, the SJC does not have the authority to dismiss the general-prosecutor. Accusations by the Muslim Brotherhood against the judiciary system began after two courts ordered the release of former president Hosni Mubarak after he served the maximum permitted time in pre-trial custody. However, Abdallah succeeded in keeping Mubarak in jail because he is facing other charges for which the detention term has not yet expired. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), along with coalitions within the Shura Council, had proposed the judicial authority draft law be amended accordingly. The law, if amended, will decrease judges' retirement age, thus meaning more than 3,000 judges will be forced into retirement. The draft was described by Judge Fathi Abdallah, deputy chairman of the Judges Club and head of the Court of Cassation, and members of opposition groups as an attempt to carry out “a judges' massacre” and squeeze Brotherhood loyalists into the judiciary system. On 19 April Islamists demonstrated in front of the Supreme Judicial Court protesting against what they described as corruption among judges and the judicial system. Demonstrations ended violently when more than 120 people were injured during more than 10 hours of fighting. Meanwhile, liberals decried what the Muslim Brotherhood is calling for — persistent attempts to Islamise the judicial system. Judge Abdallah rejected the accusations. “Judges won't stand still in front of anyone who insults them. Judges do not fear anyone because they have nothing to be afraid of. All those who insult judges will be penalised as they have committed a severe violation of the law by insulting someone without having any proof or documents proving their accusations. Accordingly, they will be soon presented to court. So welcome to the battle,” said Abdallah. Judge Ahmed Al-Zend, chairman of the Judges Club, held a meeting at the Judges Club downtown where he condemned the amendment of the judicial authority law. “If the retirement age of judges is decreased to 65 then six out of the eight members of the SJC would be forced out. If it is decreased to 60, only one judge out of three judges in each court would remain in his post,” said Al-Zend. During the meeting, Al-Zend called on the Shura Council not to consider the amendments of the judicial authority law. Al-Zend also severely criticised “aggressive protests” against court verdicts, and said that demonstrations offending the judiciary were planned by the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters. He threatened all concerned authorities to resort to international courts to put an end to the ongoing dispute and interference of the government within the judicial authority. “The judicial authority must be independent and should not be subject to any pressure by any political current,” said Al-Zend. Al-Zend held a General Assembly meeting of judges yesterday during which he discussed the current impasse. The Shura Council began discussing the bill on Tuesday although the council speaker Ahmed Fahmi received a complaint from the Judges Club head warning him against discussing the bill and urging that such legislative issues be discussed after the elections of the upcoming parliament. Shura Council members dismissed the letter and said that it was unconstitutional for one branch of government to interfere in the affairs of another, adding that Al-Zend's threats were empty and that there was nothing he could do to the Shura Council. The presidency issued a statement regarding the judicial authority draft law confirming the president's confidence that each governmental entity is fulfilling its duty towards the nation, and that he is eager to separate those authorities without interfering in their affairs.
