EGYPT: Judges Retirement Age Sparks Fresh Row

By Adam Morrow Reprint | | Print |

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

CAIRO, Apr 29 2007 (IPS) - Parliament agreed in principle last week to raise the official retirement age for judges by two years. Opposition groups and reform-minded judges have blasted the move, however, saying it would only serve to keep long-time partisans of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) ensconced in key judicial positions.

“It was a very questionable decision that will keep about 50 aging judges in their positions, all of whom are loyal to the regime,” Gemal Zahran, spokesman for the independent bloc in parliament told IPS.

In a charged Apr. 24 session, parliament provisionally passed a draft law raising the official retirement age for judges from 68 to 70. Despite almost unanimous resistance by opposition and independent parliamentarians, the vote passed easily given the ruling party’s sweeping control of the assembly.

During the session, ruling party MP Abdel Ahed Gamal Eddin defended the decision. “We must hold on to these judicial assets, many of whom would be so very difficult to replace,” he said.

In a show of protest, opposition and independent MPs walked out of the chamber, claiming they had been denied the right to debate the issue by parliamentary president and NDP stalwart Fathi Sorour.

At an impromptu press conference held the same day, dissenting parliamentarians reiterated their rejection of the decision, which they said was meant to pave the way for the “inheritance” of the presidency by Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak.

“The regime wants to keep its partisans in place in order to implement the planned inheritance of the presidency within the next two years,” said Zahran.

The decision to raise the judicial retirement age came as a shock to the outspoken Egyptian Judges Club, which has been leading a campaign for judicial independence since the 2005 parliamentary elections.

In early April, Sorour reportedly promised Judges Club president Zakaria Abdelaziz that there were no plans to raise the retirement age. On Apr. 16, a representative from the office of President Mubarak further reassured club officials that no change was in the offing.

In an open letter to Mubarak sent less than a week later, the Judges Club pointed out that the notion of raising the judicial retirement age had been overwhelmingly rejected in a 2005 general vote among the club’s roughly 10,000 members. The letter went on to remind the President of his earlier promise to maintain the retirement age at 68.

Club officials were shocked, therefore, when the decision was made in parliament, even if only in principle.

“Extending the retirement age doesn’t only work against the interests of the judiciary but against the interests of all Egyptians,” Abdelaziz was quoted as saying in the Apr. 25 edition of independent daily Al-Dustour. He went on to urge Egyptians to register their discontent by not voting for NDP candidates in upcoming elections for the Shura Council, the consultative house of parliament.

Independent local commentators, meanwhile, were quick to note the ruling party’s seemingly arbitrary approach to the issue.

“The government made promises to the Judges Club which were later broken, illustrating its random and confused way of doing things,” Saad Hagras, a prominent Egyptian writer and political analyst told IPS. “No respectable government would simply change its mind – over the course of a week – on such an important issue.”

Hagras added: “The party simply relies on its constant parliamentary majority to pass whatever decisions it wants, whenever it wants, regardless of opposition points of view.”

Sarwat Bedawi, professor of constitutional law at Cairo University and former political advisor to late president Anwar Sadat, was no less critical of government methods.

“The speed with which the decision was taken shows up the despotism of the ruling regime,” Bedawi told IPS. “For the past 25 years, the government has provided advantages to its partisans within the judiciary while depriving reform-minded judges of any benefits whatsoever.”

Leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood – the only opposition movement with a significant parliamentary presence – say the changes are being made to facilitate NDP control of upcoming elections, including a presidential race scheduled for 2011.

They also point out that, without the increase of judicial retirement ages, two of Egypt’s most important judicial postings – head of the Supreme Constitutional Court and head of the Supreme Judicial Council – would have been subject to mandatory retirement within months.

“The government needs loyal judges in order to manage upcoming elections,” Hamdi Hasan, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in parliament told IPS. “Its ultimate goal is to prevent reformist judges from assuming leading judicial positions that might later challenge it.”

Despite these objections, however, the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, also agreed in principle Apr. 29 to the proposed change. The draft law is now expected to be referred back to the People’s Assembly for final ratification.

On the same day, the Judges Club held an emergency general assembly meeting where it called on Mubarak to personally intervene to prevent the proposal from becoming law. In an unprecedented move, leaders of club threatened a nationwide judges’ strike in the event that the legislation is ratified.