Egypt’s judges are facing three crises

Egypt’s judges are facing three crises which have sparked open discontent and anger within the judiciary. The country has around 22,000 judges, of which 11,000 serve in civil and criminal courts; 2,500 serve in the State Council; and the rest are in the State Litigation Authority and Administrative Prosecution.

They are suffering from the deterioration of their living conditions, the lack of equality in salaries across equivalent ranks within the judiciary, and are being subjected to forced eviction from their offices and clubs in favour of the National Service Projects Organisation affiliated with the Egyptian Armed Forces.

In Egypt, it is rare for judges to voice their grievances publicly. However, the worsening economic situation, the sharp decline of the local currency and the growing dominance of the executive branch over the judiciary under President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi have combined to sow discontent within the judicial ranks. This frustration has reached the so-called “Bey class”, a term Egyptians use to refer to judges with the honorific title “Bey” reflecting the traditionally esteemed status of their profession.

The salary crisis is the most pressing issue for judges, who have expressed their frustration in private groups on social media about their deteriorating financial and living conditions. Their hardship stems from soaring inflation and the relentless rise in the prices of goods and services, particularly following the fifth devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar in March. The recent devaluation pushed the dollar exchange rate above the 50 Egyptian pounds mark this week, further exacerbating their struggles.

A judge’s salary in Egypt can be up to 40,000 Egyptian pounds per month (approximately $800).

While this was considered high years ago, placing judges among the best-paid social groups in the country, its value has diminished significantly for the above reasons. One judge, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that he must allocate nearly three months’ salary to cover his son’s yearly tuition at a private school.

However, the Assistant Minister of Justice for Judicial Inspection, Counsellor Wafaa Harz, has said that judges’ complaints are prohibited, arguing that such discussions delve into politics. He has taken the matter to the Minister of Justice, Counsellor Adnan Al-Fangari, who, in turn, has referred 48 judges for investigation, according to the Arab Centre for the Independence of Judiciary and Legal Profession, based in Cairo.

Despite the secrecy surrounding the developments of the crisis and the names of those referred for investigation, leaks have revealed that judges refused to appear before the Judicial Inspection Department. They even threatened to stage a sit-in and suspend work in the courts, and call for an emergency general assembly of judges to counteract the “Fangari” sanctions.

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It appears that the Judges’ Club in Cairo attempted to avoid escalation with the ruling authority with a statement denying any intention to strike. It described the media reports on the matter as “malicious rumours and false news aimed to incite discord, spread lies and destabilise [society].”

The statement added: “Egypt’s Judges are fully aware of the misinformation war targeting the Egyptian state and its institutions to sow division between the people and their institutions and they are firmly confronting this malicious war.” However, it neither addressed nor denied the judges’ discontent with their financial conditions.

The significant disparity in salaries within the judicial sector sees judges at the Court of Cassation (the highest judicial authority in the country) receive salaries that are several times higher than those of their counterparts in other courts. There are 930 judges in the Court of Cassation who each receive a monthly salary of 75,000 pounds (about $1,500), in addition to other financial privileges and allowances. This increases the financial and social gap between them and other judges.

A senior judicial source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of his position, told me that some judges have filed lawsuits demanding equality with the salaries of judges at the Supreme Constitutional Court. He claimed that they were denied access to official documents detailing the salary structure, or pay breakdown, as if it were a military secret.

He added that the gap between judges’ salaries from one body to another is large, especially when compared with the salaries of judges of the Constitutional and Cassation Courts. A proposal to unify judges’ salaries was made under former Minister of Justice Counsellor Omar Marwan, but it was never implemented on the pretext that it would cost too much.

The Supreme Judicial Council, headed by Al-Sisi, decided in June 2021 to unify financial dues for corresponding ranks in the four judicial bodies and authorities: the judiciary, the State Council, the Administrative Prosecution and State Cases.

That’s another decision that has not yet been implemented.

The judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court are the highest in terms of salaries, privileges and financial allowances, followed by judges at the Court of Cassation, then judges of the primary, partial and appeal courts, and the State Council, and on the lowest scale are members of the State Lawsuits Authority (representing the government).

A third, harsher aspect of the crisis facing Egyptian judges involves their forced eviction from premises and clubs, which they were forced to hand over to the military. This comes following a sudden decision to revoke usufruct contracts for several government entities and institutions located along the Nile. Among the most prominent affected are the State Council Judges Club and the Administrative Prosecution Advisors’ Club.

The forced eviction decisions also included vacating the State Council headquarters, located on the Nile Corniche in the Dokki area of Giza, near the capital, as well as the adjacent Princess Faika Palace, which dates to 1947. The council, along with all its courts and departments, is to be relocated to headquarters in New Cairo, east of the capital.

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The evacuation plan also included other entities such as Cairo University Faculty Club, Helwan University Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Umm Kulthum Park affiliated with Cairo Governorate, the floating theatre affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, and the headquarters of the Water Police affiliated with the Ministry of Interior.

The decision has sparked discontent among State Council judges and employees, particularly due to growing complaints about the distance to the new headquarters and the increased burden of commuting there. Furthermore, concerns are rising over the possibility of the large, vacated building being sold to a foreign investor and converted into a hotel project.

A responsible source within the Egyptian State Council, who requested anonymity, suggested that the option of selling to an unnamed gulf state is likely, with the deal benefiting a sovereign entity, possibly the military, as all judicial bodies relocate to the City of Justice in the New Administrative Capital.

Recently, President Al-Sisi directed the allocation of alternative land along the banks of the Nile for the State Council Judges’ Club and the Administrative Prosecution Advisors’ Club. This move is seen as an attempt to defuse the crisis and quell discontent within the judiciary.

In recent years, the Egyptian government has offered several prime Nile-front properties for investment, transferring some assets to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Judges previously enjoyed a special status that kept their premises and clubs exempt from such sales decisions, but recently, the military’s influence has extended to these properties as well.

For around four years, the Military Land Projects Authority has overseen the management of Nile riverbank land in Greater Cairo, from Shubra in the north of the city, to Helwan in the south. This management is based on Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2637 of 2020, which authorised the offering of several of these pieces of land for investment, contributing to the expansion of the Egyptian military’s economic empire.

Since the ousting of the late President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, 2013, the Egyptian military’s economic activities have expanded significantly. According to statements by former military spokesperson Colonel Tamer El-Refai, the military has oversight of approximately 2,300 projects nationwide. However, unofficial estimates suggest that the military controls about 50 per cent of Egypt’s economy. Additionally, military-owned companies receive full exemptions from taxes and customs duties, and their projects and profits are not subject to financial auditing or parliamentary oversight.

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