Egyptian State Council refuses to appoint female judges to Council
10/03/2010The refusal of the General Assembly of the Egyptian State Council to appoint women as judges in the council has sparked an angry reaction among lawyers and advocates for women's rights.
The decision raised concerns about the impact on the government's and civil society's efforts to promote women's rights and gender equality in the political and social arenas.
In February, the General Assembly voted by an overwhelming majority – 334 opposed and 42 in favour – against appointing women judges to the State Council, postponing this step until "the right conditions" are in place.
In 2007, Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council, which has jurisdiction over criminal and civil courts, selected 31 women to be judges, who were later appointed by presidential decree. But the decision angered conservatives who said women were not suited for the role.
In response to the vote, the Chairman of the State Council, Mohammed Al-Husseini, who supports this new role for women, held a meeting with the Special Council on February 22nd (the highest administrative authority in the State Council), which then voted four to three to back the General Assembly's decision.
But Al Husseini, in his role as chairman, issued an executive decision to continue with the procedures of appointing female judges in the State Council, saying his decision would "safeguard the reputation of Egypt and that of the State Council".
The women will be picked from law students who graduated in 2008 and 2009 who previously applied and passed the required examinations, in preparation for being presented to the Special Council in order to get the President of the Republic's approval for their appointment.
Al-Husseini stressed that the decision of the General Assembly is merely advisory and not binding on the Chairman of the Council. Only the Special Council makes decision on the appointment, promotion and transfer of the members.
He added that "there can be no voting on the general constitutional rights which establish equality, nor can we nullify the acquired legal rights of female graduates who are qualified."
Al-Ahram reported this week that El-Husseini's decree "angered State Council judges". These judges then held an emergency general assembly on March 1st to decide how to respond to El-Husseini. Members of the special committee are expected to meet again within the next few weeks to give their final say on the issue.
The General Assembly's vote caused a stir among lawyers who described the decision as "backward and ignores the achievements of Egyptian women throughout history."
The director of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, Nihad Abu Qumsan, told Al-Shorfa that "the decision was shocking especially because it contradicts the fundamentals of law and justice."
Abu Qumsan added that "it is an established notion in jurisprudence that a legal principle is general and absolute, and hence we cannot apply the law based on gender, colour or racial considerations."
She explained that the decision is blatantly opposed to the Egyptian constitution since Article 40 of the constitution states that the citizens are equal before the law, have equal rights and responsibilities, and there is no discrimination between them based on gender, origin, language, religion or ideology.
The director general of the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, Nasser Amin, rejected the State Council's decision in a statement to Al-Shorfa.
Amin said that "this decision contradicts previous decisions by the State Council itself issued in 1952 regarding women's appointment as judges in the State Council."
He added that "there is nothing in the legislations or Islamic law that prohibits women from being appointed as judges, and this should be left to the discretionary authority to decide on."
He said the council must respect international treaties and agreements to which Egypt is a signatory regarding women's rights and discrimination.
Hani Labib, an expert in citizenship issues in the National Democratic Party, interpreted the State Council's decision as an indication of the rise of a hard-line conservative trend among judges, which could represent an obstacle in the future.
He told Al-Shorfa that "there is no doubt that the decision of the General Assembly is a clear step backwards, and a contravention of the recent amendment to the constitution, especially regarding the first article which guarantees complete citizenship to everyone holding Egyptian nationality."
Labib said that "a deep analysis of the decision of the General Assembly shows a clear contradiction on the demands of the State Council. At times it calls for the independence of the judiciary referring to international treaties, and then the same Council refuses to appoint women as judges, ignoring the same international treaties."
He added that "most of the other judicial institutions have female judges, such as the constitutional and administrative courts, so why does the State Council maintain its refusal?"