E-Corporate Lawyers condemns the action of the Egyptian President Al-Sisi who appointed last week a new Chief Judge which constitutes in our view an unconstitutional interference by the executive authority in what supposed to be an independent Judicial Authority. Ahmed Abo al-Azm, on the top of the Council of State, a judicial body that provides the government with legal advice, effective July 20.
An administrative court had blocked a widely criticized agreement that cedes sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and the Supreme Administrative Court, the Council of State's top court, upheld the verdict after the government appealed.
The government pushed the deal through parliament, ignoring the verdict, and claimed the matter was not for the judiciary to decide, and the president ratified it last month.
As Reported by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Gareth Jones at Reuters, Yehia al-Dakroury, who issued the initial verdict blocking the deal in June 2016, would have normally been next in line to become Council of State Chief Justice "The law is seen as unconstitutional, many see it as an encroachment from executive on judicial branch. The constitution is clear that the judiciary is independent and should manage its affairs, including picking its own leaders," Ahmed al-Khatib, a former judge at the Cairo Court of Appeals, told Reuters.
Egypt's judiciary has long enjoyed a degree of independence but a Reuters investigation revealed last year a crackdown that started in 2014 aimed at bringing it under tighter government control.
Dakroury told Reuters he would appeal against Sisi's decision not to appoint him as Chief Justice. A Justice Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Abo al-Azm could not be reached for comment despite repeated phone calls.
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