Legal filibuster

A parliamentary debate over legislation increasing court fees paid by plaintiffs has been delayed following protests by lawyers, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

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Faced by protests and sit-ins by lawyers across the country People's Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour announced on Monday that parliamentary debates over a draft law increasing litigation fees would be postponed.

"In a telephone call this morning Justice Minister [Mamdouh] Marei asked that the debates scheduled today on litigation fees be delayed," said Sorour. "He requested that the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee be allowed more time for hearings before any final discussion by the Assembly in a plenary session."

Sorour indicated that 10 NDP MPs had also urged that another series of hearing sessions go ahead to guarantee that the final draft of the new law gains the support of all concerned parties.

Sorour's announcement was accompanied by an attack on what he called "a small number of lawyers fond of chanting shameful slogans".

"To them I say do not believe that your chants have forced the Assembly to postpone a debate." The Assembly, he added, stood firm in defence of the interests of ordinary citizens and believes in "a fruitful and calm dialogue but totally rejects the language of pressure".

Lawyers had scheduled a protest on Tuesday in front of the gates of the People's Assembly at which they planned to burn effigies of Sorour, Marei and Ahmed Ezz, the chairman of the Budget Committee. On Monday the effigies were placed by the entrance to the Bar Association on Ramses Street as lawyers chanted accusations that Sorour and Ezz were acting in the interests of the NDP and at the expense of lawyers and ordinary citizens.

Chairman of the Bar Association Sameh Ashour said the delay was good news but not enough to contain the anger of lawyers which erupted a month ago when the Ministry of Justice first submitted its draft law on litigation fees to parliament. The initial draft, which was referred to the Constitutional and Budget Committees by Marei, increased fees paid to court by plaintiffs in litigation cases 10 fold. Subsequently Marei cut the increase by half.

"The Ministry of Justice is in desperate need of money to upgrade services. We need new court complexes and funding to provide judges with advanced training," said Marei. He went on to argue that it was unacceptable that litigation fees paid to the courts have remained unchanged since 1944.

The move provoked a wave of protests from both opposition and NDP MPs who charged that the increases would place litigation beyond the means of ordinary citizens, preventing them from filing lawsuits before courts.

"The increases have been proposed at a time when ordinary citizens are beginning to feel the pinch of the global financial crisis," said independent MP Alaa Abdel-Moneim.

Abdel-Moneim, a lawyer by profession, complained that the government was systematically placing financial burdens on the shoulders of the professional classes.

"They decided to levy more taxes on pharmacists, raise litigation fees that will hit the business of lawyers, and keep the salaries of doctors and school teachers as low as possible," Abdel-Moneim claimed.

Independent MP Mustafa Bakri blamed the government for the proliferation of labour strikes, professional sit-ins, symbolic work stoppages and street protests. "The government and NDP needs to listen to others and desist from imposing lend policy unilaterally," he said.

NDP spokesman Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin defended the ruling party, reminding independent and opposition MPs that NDP deputies were the first to raise objections to the law when it came up for debate before the Assembly one week ago.

By Gamal Essam El-Din