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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Lawyers seek elusive unity
By Mona El-NahhasLawyers with various political affiliations will gather on 15 May at the Bar Association's headquarters to decide upon future moves to end the three-year sequestration imposed upon the syndicate, said Ahmed Nasser, a Wafdist candidate for the post of syndicate chairman and member of the Committee for Lawyers' Unity. The committee took the decision to call for the general conference at its second meeting on Monday.
The committee was formed in response to a suggestion made by renowned lawyer Raga'i Atteya -- who is said to be the government's candidate for the post of syndicate chairman -- during a lawyers' meeting held at the Cairo Northern Court in April. The committee's aim was to unite lawyers after having split into several conflicting groups. It includes all the candidates for the post of syndicate chairman, as well as candidates planning to contest the seats of the syndicate's council.
The committee's first meeting, held last week, had witnessed a heated debate, when Atteya refused to sign a statement that had gained the approval of all committee members. The statement referred to the events which took place since 18 March, including the shutdown of the Bar Association's headquarters for three consecutive weeks, the eruption of violence between court-appointed custodians and lawyers and the intervention of security forces to prevent the staging of general assemblies and sit-in strikes inside the syndicate. Atteya said that the statement should focus on elections instead of dealing with other topics. One of the assembled lawyers launched a severe verbal attack against Atteya, accusing him of adopting an ambiguous policy, after which Atteya withdrew from the meeting.
Mokhtar Nouh, treasurer of the former Islamist-controlled Council of the Association, sided with Atteya and asked that his signature be removed from the statement. Nouh explained his action as a form of protest against the verbal assault on Atteya.
In another development related to the Bar Association crisis, the Cairo Court of Appeals ruled last week that the registration of 40,000 lawyers with the Bar Association during the sequestration period was null and void. According to the court ruling, the custodians have no legal right to take charge of the syndicate's professional affairs. Their only responsibility should be limited to financial matters, the court said. It added that custodianship does not mean a dissolution of the syndicate's council, which should continue to fulfil its administrative tasks.
In reaction to the court ruling, Ahmed Seif El-Islam, secretary-general of the dissolved council, is planning to file an urgent lawsuit with the Administrative Court, demanding that the syndicate be handed over to the council so that it may take charge of its administrative affairs. Seif El-Islam asserts that the council still exists, adding that its members had not submitted resignations. Reliable sources say that members of the dissolved council plan to hold a meeting within the coming few days.
