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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 October 1999 Issue No. 451 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 October 1999 Issue No. 451
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Bar deliverance in sight
By Mona El-NahhasThe Court of Cassation has backed a previous ruling by the Court of Appeals, ordering an end to the three-year-old sequestration imposed on the Bar Association. More than 200,000 lawyers welcomed Sunday's court's decision, seeing it as a way out of the Association's crisis.
The ruling by the Court of Appeals, handed down in July, was opposed by Ahmed Reda Ghatwari, one of three custodians, who contested its legality before the Court of Cassation which threw out his appeal.
The court's decision having come as welcome news, lawyers are now urging Justice Minister Farouk Seif El-Nasr to enforce it. Under the ruling handed down by the Court of Appeals, the minister should establish an interim judicial committee to take charge of the syndicate's affairs and prepare for the election of a new syndicate council. The court said elections should take place within six months after the establishment of the committee.
But many lawyers believe that the government is opposed to elections. "From our past experience with the government, we have learned not to be too optimistic," said lawyer Assem Abdin. "At any rate, the actions of the justice minister will reveal the true intentions of the government. If the government decides to play games with us once again, we will not remain idle. We will put pressure on the government and will not stop until it responds to our just demands."
One lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity said a group of lawyers plan to initiate legal action against the justice minister in several misdemeanours courts if he fails to take action.
Islamist lawyer Fatema Rabie, who won the ruling of the Court of Appeals, will send a copy of the Court of Cassation's ruling to the justice minister to ensure he is informed of the decision.
Prominent lawyer Raga'i Atteya, said to be the government's candidate for syndicate chairman, told Al-Ahram Weekly he was confident that the justice minister will honour a pledge made to him and establish the judicial committee soon. Atteya said he did not believe the custodians will refuse to hand over the syndicate. "They have no choice but to respect the rulings of the judiciary," he said.
At least one of the three custodians expressed readiness to hand over the syndicate to the judicial committee. Hassan El-Mahdi said that he was anxious to take such a step after his differences with the other two custodians reached a climax. Abdel-Aziz Gabr, a second custodian, said he will wait until the justice minister forms the judicial committee. Until that happens, he added, the custodians will remain in charge of the syndicate's affairs.
The third custodian, Ghatwari, was not available for comment but sources close to him say he will respect the rulings of the judiciary.
