Cairo // Ahmed al Zind believes the key reason he was elected president of Egypt's Judges' Club was to return the body to its stated goal of defending its advocates and the integrity of the judiciary and not advocating for political reform.
"The club had lately started to mix the goals that I'm supposed to work for with some political issues that judges are prevented from indulging in or even approaching," said Mr al Zind.
Under the previous executive, judges from the club were often seen protesting on the street outside against the government of Hosni Mubarak while wearing their courtly robes.
For Mr al Zind and the judges who support him, acting as a thorn in the side of Egypt's autocratic executive - which has ruled under emergency law for much of the past quarter century - has brought few political rewards and tarnished the judiciary's reputation for neutrality.
Yet in returning the Judges' Club to a professional advocacy organisation and a social club where Egypt's revered legal experts could talk shop over tea, Mr al Zind may risk subduing an institution that over the past several decades has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates for liberal reforms.
"Many Egyptians complain that the fundamental structural problem in Egyptian political life is constitutional in nature - there is no meaningful accountability of the executive authority. I am inclined to be sympathetic to this view," said Nathan Brown, the director of the Middle East Studies programme at George Washington University in the United States. "The Judges Club under the old leadership decided to challenge this head on. I think that they failed in that challenge."
The conflict within the Judges Club between the "activist" camp, which envisions a political role for judges outside the courtroom, and the "quiescent" group, which Mr al Zind leads, has divided Egypt's judiciary for decades.
Under the previous "activist" board, the judges in May 2005 threatened to boycott their constitutional responsibility to monitor national elections scheduled for autumn of that year unless the regime met their demands for electoral reform.
On their list of reforms was a proposal to amend the electoral law to give justices complete, as opposed to partial, control over the electoral process. This would mean authority over everything from the selection of candidates to the counting of votes to the administration of polling stations.
Judges have always had authority to oversee national elections, but they were powerless to investigate or report on intimidation and electoral fraud that occurs outside the polling and counting places - the justices' only legal zones of jurisdiction.
The judges never boycotted the elections; their threat was never entirely serious because refusing their supervisory role would violate the constitution, said Bruce K Rutherford, an assistant professor of political science at Colgate University in his book Egypt After Mubarak. But their vocal stance against the government was an alarming development in a country in which the political leadership is rarely challenged openly.
Boycott or not, the activist board of the Judges Club that organised the 2005 movement was forced out in elections this year. But those judges continue to stand by their decision.
"With regard to the supervision of elections, either this supervision should be real supervision without intervention from the government or the judges should just not supervise," said Hisham Ganeena, one of the justices who drafted the list of demands the club issued in 2005.
"When a judge is supervising but it is not a true supervision ? the people will no longer trust Egyptian judges. We said that and that's why the state got upset with us."
But as far as Mr al Zind is concerned, his mandate now is to mend the damage done by the previous club's administration. The role of the club, he said, is to represent the judges' economic interests and defend them against direct attacks on their jurisdiction and integrity.
"My agenda is to open the legal channels with all the authorities, the executive and the legislative, because some of those channels were rendered inappropriate or blocked by the actions of the previous board," he said.
"A judge is not required to take an attitude either for or against the government in the work of political parties. It's not the task of the club to take strong stands against anyone except if any state authority should act in a way that might constitute aggression against the judiciary or hurt its independence."
Such aggression, said Mr al Zind, has not yet occurred. But observers will watch closely to see whether his leadership will avoid confrontation with Mr Mubarak's executive - particularly in the parliamentary elections next year and the presidential elections in 2011.
Mr Brown said the club under Mr al Zind is likely to confine its work to the its traditional duties: helping its membership, both by serving them tea and urging the government to increase their salaries, benefits and pensions. But some, such as Mr Ganeena, still do not agree.
"Defending the interests of the country, specifically as it relates to the independence of the judicial authority, is a must for the Judges' Club and this was the main objective of the club when it was established in the first place - not just to have a place to drink tea in."
mbradley@thenational.ae
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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F1 line ups in 2018
Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Kibsons%20Cares
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
