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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Lawyers unite in anger
By Mona El-Nahhas
During a stormy gathering at the High Court of Justice last Saturday, hundreds of lawyers appealed to President Hosni Mubarak to intervene in the Bar Association crisis. Lawyers vowed to begin a general work stoppage on Saturday in protest of a government-backed decision to delay association elections. The elections were originally scheduled for 1 July, but have been dogged by procedural wrangling.
In order to force the issue, the lawyers warned that other measures will follow unless, within a week, the government sets a new election date. Lawyers expressed their determination to continue sit-in strikes, which started 10 days ago, in all governorates until a solution is reached.
Advocate ire against the government has cut across party lines within the Bar Association. Lawyers blame the government for attempting to impose certain candidates on the syndicate council. At the High Court gathering, they shouted anti-government slogans proclaiming their syndicate to be a "fortress of freedom."
"We will stand firmly against governmental attempts to falsify our free will," said Ahmed Nasser, a candidate for syndicate chairman. He described the crisis as "governmental aggression against the Bar Association -- the most ferocious in the syndicate's long history." Lawyers charge that the government is attempting to coerce them into electing Raga'i Attiya as syndicate chairman. Sameh Ashour, who is also a candidate for the chairmanship, urged the judiciary not to take sides in the conflict between the government and the lawyers.
Originally, the protests were triggered by a dispute about the locations of polling stations. During preparations for the election, the judicial committee decided to set up polling stations at youth centres, social clubs, companies and governmental departments. Nasser challenged these polling stations on constitutional grounds. He argued that, according to the law, the elections must be held within the syndicate's main and branch offices. Nasser charged that the committee's decision could facilitate election rigging. Lawyers would have no control over ballot boxes, since they would be in the hands of security men.
The Administrative Court ruled on 25 June that elections should indeed be held at the main and branch offices. The government has appealed the ruling at the Supreme Administrative Court. The appeal will be heard on 22 July. Mahfouz Shuman, head of the judicial committee in charge of supervising elections at professional syndicates, ordered elections suspended pending a final decision.
Nasser and other nominees have filed lawsuits against Shuman demanding compensation for both material and moral damages caused as a result of the election delay. According to the professional syndicate law, elections should take place within 40 days of the start of nomination procedures. If this fails to occur, the nomination process should start again. This time frame expired on Saturday. Nasser's lawsuit, which calls for the annulment of Shuman's decision, will be heard by the Administrative Court on 30 July.
Relates stories:
Battle for the Bar- Issue No. 488
