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Egypt: Parliamentary committee recommends 15% increase in judicial bodies’ budget

May 31, 2019 at 3:32 pm

The Egyptian Parliament’s Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee has recommended increasing the share of the judicial bodies’ by 15 per cent during 2019-2020.

“We do not accept that the Egyptian judges’ budget be compromised at all because it is not about the judges themselves, but about justice in its broader sense and the freedom of citizens,” parliamentary committee’s chairman Bahaa Abu Shuqa said.

The committee’s approval came in response to the developments in global markets in addition to the rise in local prices, Abu Shuqa said, adding that the committee’s recommendation comes in the context of “a constitutional principle of equality and non-discrimination”.

In March, the Egyptian government approved a draft budget for the fiscal year 2019-2020, estimating a deficit of 445.1 billion Egyptian pounds ($25.76 billion).

The new budget includes cutting oil subsidies to 52.8 billion pounds ($3.06 billion) from 89 billion pounds ($4.9 billion). Prices are expected to see a new hike at a time when a large segments of Egyptians are complaining about a significant drop in their standard of living.

Judges have received substantial increases in their salaries since the 2013 military coup.

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