The Cairo Institute for Human Rights and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network organized a conference on April 16 and 17, 2011, titled “Towards Establishing a Vision for the Independence and Impartiality of the Egyptian Judiciary.” The conference was part of years-long efforts by both organizations, in cooperation with the judiciary, to strengthen judicial independence.
Held in Cairo at the Shepheard Hotel, the conference was attended by numerous judges, legalists, and representatives of political parties and groups and civil society, as well human rights defenders, writers, researchers, and several Arab and international experts. Minister of Justice Mohammed Abd al-Aziz al-Gindi prepared the inaugural speech at the conference, delivered by Judge Wael Abu Eita in his stead.
The major themes of the conference included the nature of guarantees judges deem necessary to secure an independent and impartial judiciary. Participants discussed interventions by the executive branch, represented by the Justice Ministry, into judicial affairs and the mechanisms by which court panels are formed and judges appointed and promoted. Proposals were made for achieving financial independence for the judiciary and guaranteeing the implementation of court rulings, in the context of a discussion of a report issued by the EMHRN in 2010 about judicial independence in Egypt.
The report was prepared by Egyptian researchers Dr. Futouh al-Shazli, a professor of criminal law at Alexandria University, and Karim al-Shazli, who is preparing a doctorate in law at the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne.
Participants also examined the role of the judiciary in transitional justice following the January 25 revolution, making use of international experience in this field, and discussed the problem of civilians being tried before military courts. As Egyptians are preparing to write a new constitution, the conference also discussed the need for the rules of the new constitution to conform to international norms of justice.
This publication contains the final conference report, which includes participants’ recommendations for the Cabinet, the Minister of Justice, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which is administering the country’s affairs in the transitional phase. The draft of the final report was written by the conference reporter, Medhat al- Zahed, a journalist and judicial editor.
This publication also includes the research papers presented and discussed at the conference, including:
1. “Guarantees for Financial Independence for the Judiciary,” written by Judge Zaghloul al-Balshi, vice president of the Court of Cassation.
2. “Towards Guarantees for the Implementation of Judicial Rulings,” written by Dr. Judge Ayman al-Wardani, the chief justice at the Court of Appeals.
3. “The Public Prosecutor between the Executive and the Judiciary,” written by Abdullah Khalil, an attorney at the Court of Cassation and formerly an independent expert with the UNDP.
4. “The Road to Transitional Justice in Egypt after the January 25 Revolution,” written by Mervat Rashmawi who is a Palestinian independent human rights consultant. She is the former legal adviser to the Middle East and North Africa region at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International. She is currently a fellow at the Human Rights Center of the University of Essex, and the Human Rights Law Center of the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.