Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774162015
- eISBN:
- 9781617970993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774162015.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This title presents a wide-ranging review of the relationship between the Egyptian judiciary and the government. If justice in the Arab world is often marked by a lack of autonomy of the judiciary ...
More
This title presents a wide-ranging review of the relationship between the Egyptian judiciary and the government. If justice in the Arab world is often marked by a lack of autonomy of the judiciary toward the executive power, one of the characteristic features of the Egyptian judiciary lies in its strength and activism in the defense of democratic values. Judges have been struggling for years to enhance their independence from the executive power and exercise full supervision of the electoral process to achieve transparent elections. Recent years have seen growing tensions in Egypt between the judiciary and the executive authority. In order to gain concessions, judges went as far as to threaten to boycott the supervision of the presidential and legislative elections in the fall of 2005 and to organize sit-ins in the streets. The struggle between the two powers was in full swing in the spring of 2006, when a conference convened in Cairo in early April on the theme of the role of judges in the process of political reform in Egypt and the Arab world. The conference was organized by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) in cooperation with the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD).Less
This title presents a wide-ranging review of the relationship between the Egyptian judiciary and the government. If justice in the Arab world is often marked by a lack of autonomy of the judiciary toward the executive power, one of the characteristic features of the Egyptian judiciary lies in its strength and activism in the defense of democratic values. Judges have been struggling for years to enhance their independence from the executive power and exercise full supervision of the electoral process to achieve transparent elections. Recent years have seen growing tensions in Egypt between the judiciary and the executive authority. In order to gain concessions, judges went as far as to threaten to boycott the supervision of the presidential and legislative elections in the fall of 2005 and to organize sit-ins in the streets. The struggle between the two powers was in full swing in the spring of 2006, when a conference convened in Cairo in early April on the theme of the role of judges in the process of political reform in Egypt and the Arab world. The conference was organized by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) in cooperation with the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD).
Nabil Abdel Fattah
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774162015
- eISBN:
- 9781617970993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774162015.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The debate around the role of the Egyptian judiciary was a main axis of the political, constitutional, and legal discourses of the government, the opposition, and the new protest movements, such as ...
More
The debate around the role of the Egyptian judiciary was a main axis of the political, constitutional, and legal discourses of the government, the opposition, and the new protest movements, such as Kifaya, from 2004 until the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections. The political role of judges in political and constitutional discourses is one of the characteristics of Egyptian politics. It also is recurrent in the history of the authoritarian political system that was established after the 1952 Revolution. This can be attributed to several factors. This chapter discusses the political role of the Egyptian judiciary by presenting the different meanings of a political role for judges. It also discusses the effectiveness of, reasons for, and actors in such a role.Less
The debate around the role of the Egyptian judiciary was a main axis of the political, constitutional, and legal discourses of the government, the opposition, and the new protest movements, such as Kifaya, from 2004 until the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections. The political role of judges in political and constitutional discourses is one of the characteristics of Egyptian politics. It also is recurrent in the history of the authoritarian political system that was established after the 1952 Revolution. This can be attributed to several factors. This chapter discusses the political role of the Egyptian judiciary by presenting the different meanings of a political role for judges. It also discusses the effectiveness of, reasons for, and actors in such a role.
Ahmed Abd El-hafeez
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774162015
- eISBN:
- 9781617970993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774162015.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Any observer of Egyptian politics can easily track the growth of the judicial phenomenon in Egyptian political life over the past three decades. The Egyptian judiciary has become the most prominent, ...
More
Any observer of Egyptian politics can easily track the growth of the judicial phenomenon in Egyptian political life over the past three decades. The Egyptian judiciary has become the most prominent, effective element during that period. Members of the Egyptian elite have been using the judiciary in ways that are, in certain respects, both remarkable and unprecedented in Egyptian history. Recourse to the courts by political parties is not new. It started with the 1919 Revolution and has increased in the last few years. With a few concrete examples, this chapter illustrates the different ways parties and syndicates resort to the judiciary. When all conflicts, opinions, and thoughts are reliant on the judiciary, the requirements for a healthy political life are undermined and the natural limits of the role of the judiciary are overextended. The question is whether the judiciary is the right place for settling political and intellectual conflicts.Less
Any observer of Egyptian politics can easily track the growth of the judicial phenomenon in Egyptian political life over the past three decades. The Egyptian judiciary has become the most prominent, effective element during that period. Members of the Egyptian elite have been using the judiciary in ways that are, in certain respects, both remarkable and unprecedented in Egyptian history. Recourse to the courts by political parties is not new. It started with the 1919 Revolution and has increased in the last few years. With a few concrete examples, this chapter illustrates the different ways parties and syndicates resort to the judiciary. When all conflicts, opinions, and thoughts are reliant on the judiciary, the requirements for a healthy political life are undermined and the natural limits of the role of the judiciary are overextended. The question is whether the judiciary is the right place for settling political and intellectual conflicts.
