10-09-2015 The State of the Justice and Security Sector in Egypt Karta/bild Lifos The State of the Judiciary and the Security Sector in Egypt Table of Contents Disclaimer on sources and information ........................................................................ 4 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 5 2. SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 5 3. THE POLITICAL AND SECURITY SITUATION AFTER THE FALL OF MUBARAK .............. 8 3.1. POLITICAL TURMOIL IN THE POST-MUBARAK ERA ............................................................ 8 3.2. SECURITY CONCERNS CONTINUE TO PREVAIL ................................................................ 10 4. THE CAPACITY OF THE JUDICIARY.......................................................................... 13 4.1. THE LEGAL SYSTEM................................................................................................. 13 4.2. THE COURT SYSTEM ............................................................................................... 15 4.2.1. The Regular Judiciary .................................................................................... 15 4.2.1.1. The First Degree Courts .................................................................................. 15 4.2.1.2. The Appeals Courts ......................................................................................... 16 4.2.1.3. The Court of Cassation .................................................................................... 16 4.2.2. Courts of Special Jurisdiction ........................................................................ 16 4.2.2.1. The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ........................................................ 16 4.2.2.2. Family Courts .................................................................................................. 17 4.2.2.3. Economic Courts ............................................................................................. 17 4.2.2.4. Environmental Courts ..................................................................................... 17 4.2.2.5. Military Courts ................................................................................................ 18 4.2.3. The Council of State- Majlis al-Dawla- (Administrative Judicial Court system) 20 4.2.3.1. Administrative Courts ..................................................................................... 21 4.2.3.2. The Disciplinary Courts ................................................................................... 21 4.2.3.3. The Court of Administrative Jurisdiction ........................................................ 21 4.2.3.4. Supreme Administrative Courts ...................................................................... 21 4.2.3.5. The State Commission .................................................................................... 22 4.2.3.6. The Department of Consultation .................................................................... 22 4.2.3.7. The Department of Legislation ....................................................................... 22 4.3. THE JUDGES’ CLUB ................................................................................................. 22 4.4. THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR .................................................................... 23 4.4.1.1. Members of the Office of the Public Prosecutor ............................................ 23 4.4.1.2. Duties of the Office of the Public Prosecutor ................................................. 24 4.5. COMPETENCY OF THE JUDICIAL BODY ......................................................................... 24 4.5.1. Competency of Judges .................................................................................. 24 4.5.2. Competency of the Public Prosecutor ........................................................... 27 4.5.3. Competency of Judicial Personnel ................................................................ 28 4.6. EFFICIENCY AND RESOURCES .................................................................................... 29 4.7. INTEGRITY OF THE JUDICIARY .................................................................................... 29 4.7.1. The Independence of the Judiciary ............................................................... 29 4.7.2. Nepotism and Corruption within the Judiciary ............................................. 31 4.7.3. The Politicization of the Judiciary ................................................................. 33 4.7.4. Reforms within the Judiciary ........................................................................ 35 5. THE CAPACITY OF THE SECURITY SECTOR .............................................................. 36 5.1. MINISTRY OF INTERIOR ............................................................................................ 36 5.1.1. Egyptian National Police .............................................................................. 37 5.1.2. Homeland Security ....................................................................................... 37 5.1.3. Other Agencies within the MoI ..................................................................... 38 5.1.4. Central Security Forces (CSF) ........................................................................ 38 5.2. THE CAPACITY OF THE SECURITY SECTOR ..................................................................... 38 5.3. THE INTEGRITY OF THE SECURITY SECTOR .................................................................... 41 10-09-2015 2 (64) Lifos The State of the Judiciary and the Security Sector in Egypt 5.4. UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY ..................................................... 43 5.5. CHALLENGES OF REFORMING THE SECURITY SECTOR ..................................................... 45 6. PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE GROUPS .................................................................. 47 6.1. CHRISTIANS ........................................................................................................... 47 6.2. JOURNALISTS ......................................................................................................... 48 6.3. MEMBERS OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ................................................................ 49 6.4. MEMBERS OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND ACTIVISTS ................................................................ 51 6.5. WOMEN............................................................................................................... 52 6.6. LGBTQ PERSONS .................................................................................................. 55 7. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 57 7.1. ELECTRONIC SOURCES ............................................................................................. 57 7.2. PRINTED SOURCES .................................................................................................. 64 7.3. ORAL SOURCES ...................................................................................................... 64 8. LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................... 64 10-09-2015 3 (64) Lifos The State of the Judiciary and the Security Sector in Egypt Disclaimer on sources and information This report was written according to the common EU-guidelines for processing factual COI (2008). It was therefore composed on the basis of carefully selected, publicly available sources of information. All sources used are referenced. All information presented, except for undisputed/obvious facts has been cross-checked, unless stated otherwise. The information provided has been researched, evaluated and processed with utmost care within a limited time frame. However, this document does not pretend to be exhaustive. Neither is this document conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. If a certain event, person or organization is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken place or that the person or organization does not exist. The information in the report does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the authority and makes no political statement whatsoever. 10-09-2015 4 (64) Lifos The State of the Judiciary and the Security Sector in Egypt 1. Introduction The purpose of this report is to outline the performance of Egypt´s justice and security sector in terms of sustaining the population’s ability to exercise their civil rights and the safeguards provided by the institutions within the above mentioned sectors to maintain these practices. The report further identifies the actors involved in upholding the legal and practical functions of these institutions (i.e., the courts, prosecution and the police force). In this regard, the report examines the capacity and the integrity of the institutions that make up the justice and security sectors in Egypt. Capacity is identified as the actual ability for these institutions to provide adequate protection for the citizens of Egypt. This is done by studying the competencies of each sector, which in this case, means looking at the educational background, appointment, training, as well as gender and religious representation. Integrity describes the will to implement this ability, as