Justice conference cancelled: minister

Basil El-Dabh
2 Min Read
However the Judges' Club announced it would boycott the conference, which President Morsi had called for in April. (DNE File Photo)
However the Judges' Club announced it would boycott the conference, which President Morsi had called for in April. (DNE File Photo)
However the Judges’ Club announced it would boycott the conference, which President Morsi had called for in April.
(DNE File Photo)

A conference intended to resolve tensions between the Shura Council and judiciary will not take place, said Minister of Justice Ahmed Suleiman on Saturday.

Suleiman told state-owned Al-Ahram that during his Friday meeting with President Mohamed Morsi, the Justice Conference was not brought up due to “unsuitable conditions”.

Suleiman said the current crisis between the Shura Council and the judiciary, which objects to some amendments to the Judiciary Law proposed by Al-Wasat Party, would be resolved by the Ministry of Justice.

He said his ministry was working on a draft that would modify some amendments and would seek consensus with Egypt’s judges before submitting the new draft to the Shura Council, affirming that the judicial reforms could be achieved while maintaining its complete independence.

The Justice Conference was intended to provide a platform of exchange between judges and the Shura Council concerning differences between the two sides regarding the Judiciary Law amendments.

However the Judges’ Club announced it would boycott the conference, which President Morsi had called for in April. The group rejected Prosecutor General Tala’at Abdallah’s participation in the conference and said they would discuss possible reforms with a newly elected parliament, rather than the Shura Council.

The Supreme Judicial Council decided it would suspend preparations for the conference after the Judges’ Club announced its boycott.

Despite polarisation surrounding the amendments, the Shura Council referred the proposed amendments to its Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Affairs for discussion.

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