Riad & Riad law firm is unhappy with the new, controversial amendments to the Judicial Authorities Act, calling them “clearly tainted with unconstitutionality.” It says claims that the amendments will not affect judicial independence are “flawed … For example, the head of the State Council, in his capacity and by default, is the president of the Supreme Administrative Court which reviews and decides on the challenges initiated against the decrees issued by the government and the President. He is also the head of the judicial panel which decides on the challenges initiated against the results of the presidential election. To add more, the president of the Court of Cassation, in his capacity, is one of the members of the judicial panel which adjudicate the President in case of impeachment according to Article 159 of the Constitution.” This makes the positions of the heads of judicial authorities carry a “serious and sensitive judicial implications and not a mere administrative job.”

The judiciary isn’t staying quiet, either: The Judges Club of Egypt’s advisory board met yesterday and is considering writing its own, alternative Judicial Authorities Act, Al Masry Al Youm says, citing unnamed judicial sources. Club executives are increasingly unhappy that the Court of Cassation (the nation’s highest appeals court) refuses to call for an assembly of all the nation’s judges on Friday to discuss issue. The club ultimately decided to indefinitely postpone its general assembly meeting, spokesman Hazem Rasmy said yesterday, according to the newspaper.