EGYPT: JUDGES CLUB STORM OUT OF "CONSULTATION" AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 003556

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC STAFF FOR SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: JUDGES CLUB STORM OUT OF "CONSULTATION" AS
JUDICIARY BILL MOVES FORWARD

REF: CAIRO 3006

Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The dispute between the Judges Club and the
GOE, which prompted major demonstrations and a violent
crackdown in May, is heating up again. Leaders of the Judges
Club (JC) stormed out of a June 4 meeting with the Ministry
of Justice, where they had been invited to consult on the
GOE's new draft judiciary law. A key member of the JC
leadership denounced the GOE's initiative to include the Club
in deliberations as a "farce." The GOE's draft judiciary
bill was forwarded to the Council of Ministers for review on
June 7 and will be sent to parliament before the end of the
month. The JC are considering striking in protest, but an
activist closely tied to the group predicted the strikes, if
called, will not attract enough participation to force the
GOE's hand. End summary.


2. (C) A lull in the feud between the Judges Club and the
executive, represented by the Ministry of Justice and the
appointed Supreme Judicial Council, followed the
anti-climactic outcome of the May 18 disciplinary hearing
(reftel). The disciplinary tribunal closed with the
acquittal of activist judge Ahmed Mekky and the issuance of a
meaningless reprimand to his colleague Judge Hisham
Bastawissy. Both judges had been charged with defaming
their colleagues by exposing fraud in the fall 2005
parliamentary elections. While judges, and their supporters
in the activist community, were generally dissatisfied with
the outcome, many expressed relief that the worst-case
scenario - the dismissal of the two judges from the bench -
did not come to pass.


3. (SBU) Following the hearing, Bastawissy, who had suffered
a heart attack on May 17, was visited in the hospital on May
20 by Minister of Justice Aboul Leil. The picture of the
Minister kissing the bed-ridden Bastawissy on the head
appeared on the front pages of several Cairo newspapers and
was interpreted by many observers as a gesture that would
allow both sides to turn the page and settle their
differences quietly.


4. (C) In early June, the GOE publicized its intent to invite
the Judges Club leadership to consult with the Ministry of
Justice team drafting the new judiciary law. The offer
appeared to be a potential breakthrough: the issuance of a
new judicial law, with provisions that would strengthen the
(currently dubious) independence of the judiciary, has been a
core demand of the Judges Club since it stepped up its public
activism in the spring of 2005.


5. (C) However, the prospect that these consultations would
herald a new phase of amity and cooperation between the
executive and the judiciary was dashed quickly after the June
4 meeting began. Five members of the Club leadership,
including the outspoken club president Zakaria Abdel Aziz,
walked out after half an hour, angrily telling reporters that
their Ministry hosts had refused to provide them with a draft
of the law, "instead they asked us to write down our
suggestions about something we have never seen," JC
representative Nagy Derbala told the media.


6. (C) While they had not been shown a copy of the draft, the
JC representatives told reporters, they were told that the
bill's text does not include key Club demands - and instead
retains for the Minister ultimate authority over judicial
promotions and assignments, and fails to accord legal status
to the JC as a recognized professional organization. The
revelations that the draft fell far short of the JC's demands
prompted Abdel Aziz to term the bill "The Abuse of the
Judiciary Law" rather than "the Independence of the Judiciary
Law."


7. (C) The draft was forwarded to the Council of Ministers on
the morning of June 7. The Council will review the bill and
send it on to parliament for approval before the end of the
month. The Judges Club leadership has reportedly sent
telegrams to President Mubarak and Prime Minister Nazif
pleading for their intervention and urging that the Club be
included in a meaningful consultation process before the
draft is forwarded to parliament for approval. The Club is
expected to hold an emergency meeting on the evening of June
7 to consider their options. Nasser Amin (protect),head of
the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary the
Legal Profession (ACIJLP),an NGO with close ties to the
Club, told us that the judges are running out of options.



8. (C) While the leadership may decide to call a strike, Amin
expected that although a majority of Egypt's judges support
the Club, less than 500 of the Egypt's would actually
participate in a sustained strike to protest the new law.
While 500 striking judges could slow down Egypt's wheels of
justice (which already move slowly),their absence would not
put enough pressure on the GOE to give in to the Club's
demands. A strong supporter of the Club and the cause ofQnhancing judicial independence, Amin admitted to us he was
becoming fatalistic - the GOE will get its way on the
judiciary law this year and Egypt's judges will have little
choice but to accept defeat, at least for the time being.


JONES