Bolis Fahmy Eskandar was sworn in as President of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) before President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Wednesday.
After the ceremony, Al-Sisi expressed his deep appreciation for the important role of the SCC, wishing the court’s new president all success in his post.
This was the first time for a Coptic Christian to assumethe presidency of the SCC since its establishment more than 50 years ago. The move was hailed by Egypt’sNational Council for Human Rights (NCHR), calling it a “historic step”.
The SCC is the country’s autonomous and independent judicial authority in charge of ensuring that the domestic laws and regulations are in line with the Constitution.
Eskandar was appointed to the Public Prosecution in 1978, after which he became an adviser to the Court of Appeals in 1997 and then its head in 2001.
In 2010, he served as the vice president of the SCC and then as president of Cairo’s Court of Cassation. Later,he was reappointed as the vice president of the SCC in 2014.
He also assumed many other important positions, such as a technical adviser to the minister of justice, assistant to the justice minister for financial and administrative development affairs, and president of the South Cairo and Helwan Primary Courts.
During his time as vice president of the SCC, he participated in the issuance of many important and historical rulings and has also supervised the General Secretariat of the Court since October 2014.
NCHR President Moushira Khattab commented: “It isa giant step in the field of civil and political rights on the path to assuring that each Egyptian is afforded their full rights without any discrimination, and also reflects the president’s determination to implement the newly issued National Strategy for Human Rights.”
“Egypt is ushering in a new era in which the political leadership holds in high value the civil rights and the principle of equal opportunities for all citizens without any discrimination based on religion, gender, or any other reason,” she added.
It worth noting that in 2019, Al-Sisi ratified amended laws passed by parliament that gave the president the authority to choose the heads of top judicial bodies, including the SCC.
The president also has the authority to choose the head of the SCC from the five longest-serving deputy chairs for a one-time term of four years, which ends if the age of retirement, 70, is reached.
