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Towards a new law for the professional syndicates

January 19, 2006

The National Association For Defending The Rights and The Freedoms and MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies held a workshop under the title of (Towards a new law for the professional syndicates) at the place of the national center for the human rights and under its sponsorship and support at Thursday according to 19/01/2006.

The activities of the workshop started by a speech from Mr. Gamal Barakat, he is the general secretary for The National Association For Defending The rights & The Freedoms for welcoming Mr. ambassador / Mukhles Kotb, the general secretary for the national council for the human rights and Mr. Ayman Okail, the general manager for MAAT center (institute)for the juridical and the constitutional studies, afterwards he passed the speech to Mr. ambassador / Mukhles Kotb, he assured that, the role of the professional syndicates and its importance in the civil society and the necessity for amending the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 and the necessity for the continuous cooperation and coordination between the council and the civil society organizations and the necessity for they being supported and sponsored by the council at the whole of its various activities.

The council proposed a suggestion paper about amending the law no., 100 for the year of 1993, amended by the law no., 5 for the year of 1995 that’s prepared by the legislative committee of the council after holding the hearing committee of the council with the participation of Dr. Mufeed Shehab, the general secretary for the committee for the professionals, attended by Mr. Hafez Abu-Saeda, the general secretary for the Egyptian organization for the human rights, Mr. Sameh Ashour, the lawyers syndic.

Mr. Ayman Okail, the general manager for MAAT center (institute) for the juridical and the constitutional studies assured that, the principal cause for passing the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 is that, to resist and to prevent the increased influence of the religious movement (the Muslim brothers group) inside the professional syndicates, he referred to that, Egypt has got (includes) 23 of the professional syndicates including about 6 millions of members from the middle (medium) class, and that the professional syndicates had had its effective role in the general life (the public life and affairs) and the political activities

they had been superior to the political parties, and that the professional syndicates when they held a meeting at the syndicate of the physicians in 1990 as they assured the necessity for abandoning the president of the republic, the presidency of the national democrat political party, canceling and deleting the law of emergency state, and canceling and deleting the restrictions that’s imposed on the freedom of the press, and establishing the political parties, demanding for holding clear, fair and free elections

as they discussed the problem of the idleness of the professionals in the year of 1991 after the invasion of al-Kuwait and a lot of the Egyptians returned back again to Egypt all of these lead to this law to be passed that’s called '' the law for the guaranteeing the democracy of the syndication perform'' that’s not belonging to the democracy anyway and anyhow but its name(title)and its formal procedures for passing it, this law lead to freeze a lot of the syndicates and the syndication performance, as a consequence, this law made some of the syndicates asking from the government to give them grants(support)and credits for the retirement treasury to make them able to face the financial deficits of them.

As Mr. Okail assured that , this law has got a lot of the disadvantages and restrictions, he urged the syndicated individuals to neglect and to ignore their differences as he demanded from the syndicates to cooperate to suggest and to propose another law to be implemented instead of the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 and that, the syndicated individuals themselves must participate in this matter to go out from this dark tunnel that’s the custody(guarding).

The activities of the first session started that were about showing and explaining the disadvantages and the restrictions of the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 that’s amended by the law no., 5 for the year of 1995.

The chairman of this session was Mr. Hafez Abu-Saeda, the general secretary for the Egyptian organization for the human rights, as the most important disadvantages of this law were as next:

-the term of restricting of the 2nd article for signing the result of the elections that’s to vote the half of the number of the members of the assembly at least, that their names are registered at the lists of the syndicate that, they are rightful to vote that’s as a term for the legality of electing the syndic and the members of the council, if the legal proportion wasn’t completed the elections must be returned again, and the minimum limit must be for the legality of the elections to vote 1/3 of the members, if this proportion wasn’t completed there must be imposed a committee for managing the syndicate under a judicial supervision.

-also the judicial authorities managing the syndicates in the case of the legal proportion wasn’t being completed and not to invite the general assembly to hold the elections that’s leading to put the syndicate under endless custody(guarding) state.

One of the disadvantages of the law no., 100 for the year of 1993, that it gave the supervise judicial committee for the elections of the syndicates the authority to make and to determine the appointment and the date of the elections and its procedures.

This law is infringing against the constitution so it was objected against it at the high constitutional court, because of that, the 5th article of it is infringing against the constitution that says that, the meeting of the members of the general assembly for holding the elections at the whole days except the Fridays and the formal evications, that’s to implement this context lead to restricting the participation and decreases it at the electoral process in addition to the high proportion that’s necessary for the legality of holding the meeting of the general assembly.

Some individuals said about the disadvantages of the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 its being implemented on the whole of the professional syndicates despite of being there differences among the professional syndicates each others, as an example there is a central syndicate such as the syndicate for the journalists and there are subsidiary syndicates allover the republic as there are large differences at the numbers of the memberships at the syndicates that’s lead for being there a necessity for being there differences at the rules of the elections of the councils of the syndicates, according to the judgment of the high constitutional court no., 15 for the year of 14 C.J.Y, A, that what the constitution meant by its context of the article no., 56 of it that: establishing the syndicates on democratic basis is a right under the law that’s to guarantee the rights of the members of the syndicate to determine its basis and systems and programs and organizing its managements and its activities and to elect their representatives in a complete free way, that’s the syndication democracy that’s guaranteeing the freedom of the widely open discussions in equity and equality and expressing the several opinions and the different ones at the same syndicate.

The 2nd session was about the proposed suggestions by the participants its chairman was Mr. Abdullah Khaleel the lawyer in front of the higher court as he is an expert at the international law for the human rights.

The majority of the participants assured that, the necessity of being canceled and deleted the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 and to return back again to a law for each syndicate solely, as Mr. Abdullah Khaleel demanded to be implemented the law of practicing the civil and the political rights rules on the electoral crimes in the case of being there any violation or infringement at the electoral process since declaring the start of the registrations till declaring the results.

Recommendations

At the end of the workshop, the recommendations and the suggestions were displayed as the next :

First :

Presenting the texts of the alternative law to Law 100 of 1993.

1st :

This law is applicable on the professional syndicates

The 2nd article :

It is a must to be legal to elect the syndic and the members of the council of the general syndicate or the subsidiary syndicate to vote 25% of the number of the members of the general assembly that their names are registered at the lists of the syndicate those who is rightful to them to vote at least

According to the rules of the laws of each syndicate it is rightful for each syndicate to suggest the legal necessary amendments for determining the number and the structure of its general assembly

If this proportion wasn’t completed till the end of the electoral process the members of the general assembly must be invited for holding a 2nd meeting within two weeks, this time the elections would be rightful with the voting of 10% of the number of the members at least of those who are rightful to them to vote.

3rd article:

If the syndic and the members of the council haven’t been elected according to the previous article the syndic and the council of the syndicate must continue to practice their authorities for a year as a temporary council and the members of the general assembly must be invited within this duration to elect the syndic and the council of the syndicate by the same way and that the elections(the electoral)process would be rightful by accomplishing the proportion that’s determined by the previous article.

Article 4:

If there was any reason for not being there a syndic before accomplishing his duration at the syndicate that would be replaced by the eldest of the deputies and that, the general assembly must be invited to elect the syndic within 3 of months of the date that there was no syndic for the syndicate according to the both articles the 2nd and the 3rd of this law, as the duration of the elected syndic must be considered as accomplishing the duration of the previous syndic.

Article no., 5:

The meeting of the members of the general assembly for elections must be hold at the days that would be determined by the supervise committee for the elections according to the article no., 7 and to be publicized its appointments at two of the widely spreading daily journals in the Arabic language.

Article no., 6 :

The elections must be held for the whole of the syndications levels according to the way(method)that would be determined by the laws of each syndicate and the judiciary council must be informed to impose(determine)a number of the judges to supervise the electoral and the counting processes and declaring the results as the ministry of justice must bare the whole of the costs and the expenses.

Article no., 7:

At each of the professional syndicates there must be established committees of the non competing members its mission must be as the next:

1- to judge on the whole of the applications and the petitions for registering the names at the electoral lists or neglecting or ignoring the registrations without legal reasons or correcting the data of the registrations within a maximum limit of 7 days of the date of declaring the lists and its decisions must be informed to whom concerned within 3 days of its issuance.

2- Judging on the whole of the applications and the petitions that would be presented(applied)to it since the declaration of the start of the elections process till the electoral process would be finished to assure its accordance to the law.

Article no., 8 :

The member of the professional syndicate would be rightful to him to vote at the electoral process at the whole of the syndication levels only if he accomplished his all payments of his participation before two months of the determined appointment for holding the elections.

Article no., 9 :

The councils of the general and the subsidiary syndicates and the whole of the professional syndications organizations would be rightful to them to collect sums of money and to accept the donations for serving the purposes of the syndicates and for each syndicated member it would be rightful to him to claim from the administrative court to stop and freeze any action or any procedure that could be passed against this article according to the rules and the procedures of the law of the administrative courts as it would be prohibited to impose the judicial or the administrative custody(guarding) on the professional syndicates or to dominant its funds for any reason.

Article no., 10 :

It would be rightful to each syndicate to implement and to apply its particular law for the half proportion reform in case that there is any context says that or according to the legal reforms and amendments for the general assembly of the procedures and the numbers.

Article no., 11 :

Any context or any article of any law could be standing against this law would be canceled and deleted and it would be prohibited to amend the laws of the professional syndicates but after surveying the opinion of its general assembly.

Article no., 12 :

This law would be published at the governmental newspaper and would be applicable of the next day of its being publicized, this law would be sealed by the official seal of the republic and would be applied as a law of its laws.

This law shall be stamped with the seal of the state, and enforced as one of its laws .

2nd:

the attendants suggested to establish a general union for the professional syndicates.

3rd :

-This suggestion(project)of the new law would be displayed and distributed on the whole of the professional syndicates to express their opinions about it.

-At the end(fin)of this workshop the judges club agreed on implementing and executing the recommendations of the general assembly to cancel and delete the role of the judiciary committee for supervising or interfering at the affairs of the professional syndicates and to cancel and delete the law no., 100 for the year of 1993 that’s amended by the law no., 5 for the year of 1995, and to return back again to activate the role of the general assembly of the professional syndicates and to amend its regulations and its particular laws

The participants at the workshop

1- Muhsen Mohamed Mahmoud El-Bahnasy: lawyer, member at the higher council of the association for the legal aid(assistance) for the human rights.

2- Ashraf Mahmoud Mahfouz : lawyer, the Arabian office for the law.

3- Dr. Mohamed Ali Beshr : engineer and university master.

4- Sad Hasabul-Lah : lawyer.

5- Said Abdul-Hafez Darwish : lawyer.

6- Ahmed Ahmed al-Nahaas : consultant engineer

7- Ahmed Mekhimer : general manager for the center of discussion

8- Dr. Medhat Murad peters : lawyer

9- Faten Fewar : researcher , EDE

10- Hanan Nour el-Deen Ali Hassan : the managerial council chairman of the association for El-Tawen Yad Beyad

11- Fatma Mustafa Ahmed : general secretary for the association of Al-Tawen Yad Beyad