In the wake of a clear refusal of the Judicial Authority bill, currently under discussion by the Parliament, the Member of the Parliament's (MP) legislative committee, Mostafa Bakry, asserted that attempts are underway to reach compromise between the State Council and the Parliament.
Bakry, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that there are parliamentary attempts to hold a meeting between high-ranking judges and MPs, to bridge the divide between the two sides over the controversial draft law presented by the Parliament.
In a bid to justify their rejection of the draft law, the State Council recently sent the Parliament a report supported by legal evidence clarifying their stance.
The feud was initially sparked when the Parliament approved on Monday March 27 a new draft law on the Judicial Authority, which includes amendments to some articles of the laws regulating the State Council, the State Lawsuits Authority and the Administrative Prosecution Authority.
The new draft law reportedly stipulates that the president will appoint the heads of the judiciary authorities by a decision, choosing from among the three vice-chairmen of each judicial body, nominated by the supreme council of that body from among the oldest seven deputies.
Judges called the law a violation of the independence of the judiciary and an unnecessary change in what are stable norms and traditions, in choosing the head of each body according to the rule of seniority and not in the ways stipulated in the new amendments introduced to the law.
Voicing a different point of view, another member of the Parliament's legislative committee, Alaa Abdel Monem, said that the only way to end the crisis between judges and MPs is to avoid the discussion of this draft law in the first place.
He further noted that the State Council sent constitutional and legal evidence that clarifies the reasons behind their refusal of such a law, adding that the Parliament should accept them and refrain from approving the draft law.
"The current political situation in Egypt will not bear the presence of any clashes between authorities" Monem stressed.
The undersecretary of the Parliament's Legislative Committee, Nabil El Gamal, said that the report issued from the State Council will be discussed by the committee members to determine its fate.
He further explained that if the committee members find the s included in the report persuasive, they will suspend the discussion of the law altogether; however, if they do not, the Parliament will undertake all its legal powers.
"What is going on between the Parliament and the judicial authorities is not considered a dispute between authorities, as it is limited to different points of view," El Gamal stressed.
Meanwhile, Ahmed El Sharqwai, another member of the Parliament's legislative committee, expressed his support for all the legal evidence mentioned in the State Council report that stipulates the unconstitutionality of the suggested draft law. "The draft law does not abide to articles number 5 and 185 of the constitution, which clearly force the Parliament to consult the judicial entities regarding any legislation that is related to them (judges)," he explained to justify his support.
He noted that in case a feud flares up between the Parliament and the judicial entities, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi should interfere and work to reach a compromise between them.
In the same context, MP Abdel Rehim called on the Parliament's head to support the legal evidence mentioned in the State Council report for the sake of keeping the Nation's unity; that may be adversly affected by the presence of any feuds between the State's authorities.
