The Decree of the Minister of Justice to grant judicial arrest to military officers in the crimes of civilians is a consecration of the trial of civilians before military courts and re-activation of the state of emergency law

Cairo, 13^th June 2012

            

The Decree of the Minister of Justice to grant judicial arrest to military officers in the crimes of civilians is a consecration of the trial of civilians before military courts and re-activation of the state of emergency law

 

The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its deep concern over the Minister of Justice decree No. 4991 of 2012 which was published in the official newspaper on 13/6/2012 as it gives authority to officers, noncommissioned officers of military intelligence and military police of judicial arrest of civilians for their crimes (non-military ones).

The ACIJLP believes that this decree is considered as a revival and re-activation of the state of emergency law, which was suspended on 31 May 2012.

The ACIJLP also believes that the subordination of civilian to the military offices in the crimes committed by civilians represents a serious breach of the guarantees of fair trial, particularly in its early stages, which begins by the arrest or inspection. Furthermore, this decree adversely affected the jurisdiction of the natural judiciary represented by the Public Prosecutor because those military officers who will have the authority to judicial arrest of civilians will not be subject to the supervision of the Public Prosecution and the lawsuits in which they will exercise their functions will be tried by military courts.

The ACIJLP stresses that this decree represents a consecration of the trial of civilians before military courts which breaches the right of the individual to be brought for trial before a natural judge as well as breaching the independence of the judiciary through depriving the judiciary from its powers to try civilians.

The ACIJLP calls upon the Egyptian Minister of Justice to immediately repeal this decree, which represents a militarization of civilian life, violates the rights of citizens, violates the independence of the judiciary and re-activate the emergency law without taking legal procedures.

The minister of justice stated that "without prejudice to powers set forth in the Code of Military Justice, promulgated by Law No. 25 of 1966, the Minister of Defense or his authorized representative gives the authority to the officers, the noncommissioned officers of military intelligence and military police to judicial arrest for judicial crimes that fall from the non-military persons in the crimes set forth in sections (I, II and II bis, VII, XII and XIII) of the second book of the Penal Code, in Chapter XV and XVI of the third book of the same law".

It should be noted that the Articles set forth in the decree are related to harmful crimes and misdemeanors to the security of the government from the outside and the inside, explosives, rulers resistance and the non-compliance with their orders and the verbal and other types of abuse of them, the destruction of buildings and monuments and any public object, disruption of transportation, stop working for public interests, the attack on freedom to work and finally intimidation and bullying”.