The state litigation authority chancellors’ club held an urgent general assembly on Sunday to discuss the role of judiciary in Egypt’s upcoming constitution.
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The urgent assembly followed a meeting between Hussam Al-Gheryani, head of the Constituent Assembly, and Mohamed Abdel Azeem Al-Sheikh, president of the state litigation authority, to resolve the current conflict between the state litigation authority chancellors and the Constituent Assembly. Al-Sheikh disagreed with Al-Gheryani and withdrew from the meeting. Al-Sheikh couldn’t be reached for comment about his withdrawal.
Chancellor Samir El-Kamash, media adviser and head of the media committee of the state litigation authority chancellors’ club, said state litigation authority chancellors have no problem with the members of the Constituent Assembly. He explained that their issue is with chancellor Al-Gheryani, who they say is attempting to undermine the role of state litigation authority chancellors by holding advisory committees and proposing draft laws aiming to undermine the role of the judicial branch in Egypt.
The urgent assembly also stressed the club’s support for the agreement reached by the Constituent Assembly, which yielded the civil prosecution to members of the state litigation authority.
“The system of civil prosecution aims to process and issue judgments of civil and commercial cases within a maximum period of six months, which is the solution to the slow justice phenomenon in Egypt,” said El-Kamash.
El-Kamash said Al-Gheryani needs to stop interrupting the work of the Constituent Assembly, adding that he is exceeding his powers.
“The crisis of the prosecutor general is a quite remarkable example to Al-Gheryani’s behavior,” added El-Kamash.
In contrast, another member of the Constituent Assembly, Younis Mahkhyoun, asserted that Al-Gheryani is only one member out of 100. He added that his position is merely administrative and that the assembly reaches decisions through majority voting, where Al-Gheryani has equal voting to other members.
“Chancellor Al-Gheryani never interrupted our work. However, his only mistake is that he mentions his personal opinions on his position of authority,” concluded Makhyoun.
The state litigation authority chancellors’ club is a group of prosecutors who represent the state in legal proceedings.
