Prevention of the President of the Constitutional Court from entering the court is a crime borne by the Egyptian regime

Cairo, 16th December 2012   

Prevention of the President of the Constitutional Court from entering the court is a crime borne by the Egyptian regime 

The Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its deep concern and dismay over the continuing siege of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the continued threat of court judges and attempts of intimidation in a manner that threatens their right to physical integrity during the performance of their profession and represents a violation of their independence.

The ACIJLP also expresses its full condemnation for allegedly reports stated that besiegers of the court on Sunday, 16th December 16, 2012, attempts to prevent a judge in the Supreme Court, councilor Maher Al-Beheiri, who is the president of the Supreme Constitutional Court, from entering the seat of the Court, and attempts to prevent him  from performing his duties without intimidation or prosecution, a matter which called on the President of the constitutional Court to contact the security services and armed forces to enable him to enter his office.

The ACIJLP holds Egyptian President full responsibility regarding the lax of concerned authorities in the protection of the Constitutional Court and its judges, to the extent of collusion and the desire to prevent the court from issuing rulings relevant to the rule of law at this time.

The ACIJLP points out that though the right to sit in or peaceful demonstration guaranteed to everyone, according to international obligations and commitments, but this right is limited for the need to respect the rights and reputations of others, as well as for the protection of national security, public order, public health or morals. The ACIJLP also believes that the siege of the Supreme Constitutional Court, and the threat of its judges represent not only a clear violation of the independence of the judiciary, but also threatens the justice in Egypt.

The ACIJLP calls upon the Egyptian authorities to break the siege imposed on the headquarters of the Supreme Constitutional Court since Sunday 2^nd November 2012 because this siege represents a waste to the rights and freedoms of others in addition to interrupting justice's facility in Egypt.

The ACIJLP also calls upon Egyptian President to undertake its role in protecting state institutions, including the judiciary, and to assign Egyptian concerned authorities to provide the necessary protection for all judicial bodies in Egypt, in order to support and promote justice and facilitate the exercise of these bodies of their professions and enhance the conditions of justice and human rights.