Yemeni Bar Association determines its position on the Sanaa Authority’s amendment to the existing law on judicial authority

Yemen

Yamanat – Sanaa

The Yemeni Bar Association confirmed its categorical rejection and clear position against the draft amendments to the law on judicial authority.

In a press release published Wednesday evening, September 11, 2024, he called on all lawyers and members of the judiciary to unite to face these amendments.

He also called on the Arab Lawyers Union and all civil society organizations to join the union in supporting its position against these amendments.
The Sanaa House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a draft amendment to Law No. (1) on Judicial Authority of 1991, less than 24 hours after it was referred to a special committee for study.

The Bar Association’s statement confirmed that an expanded meeting was held on Wednesday at the Bar Association headquarters in Sana’a, attended by the General Council of the Bar, a number of members of the Sana’a branch and a group of members of the General Assembly, to introduce themselves before the draft amendments to the Judicial Authority Law No. (1) of 1991 AD.

The statement also confirmed that the union was surprised by the government’s presentation of the draft amendments to the House of Representatives, saying it was necessary to accelerate the correction of imbalances and shortcomings in the judicial bodies.

The union described the draft amendment as catastrophic, noting that its publication amid celebrations commemorating the Prophet’s birthday represents a legislative setback, reflecting a serious desire to tear national cohesion and deepen the concepts of legislative separation on the ground, believing that it disrupts the honorable occasion, contributes to dividing the national ranks and represents a violation of the legislative unity of the country.

The union said that upon careful examination of the amendments presented, it becomes clear that they reflect the individual desire to subjugate the judiciary and transform it from an independent authority into a body subordinate to the executive branch.

She stressed that there is no need to make legal amendments at this critical stage, especially since the draft of these amendments is far from being consistent with legislative logic from a practical, scientific and philosophical point of view.

The press release considers that all the justifications put forward are worse than the amendments themselves, insofar as they conceal judicial reform, while being far from it.
He considered that the draft amendments constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen and in all the constitutions of civilized countries.

The union emphasized in its statement that the matter did not end there, but that the explanatory memorandum directly affected the sanctity of the constitutional provisions, stating that the constitutional decision issued in Case No. (20/23) of 1434 AH, during the session of the Constitutional Chamber on May 26, 2024, was unconstitutional of a number of articles of the Judicial Authority Law – claiming that this decision was the result of a political dispute between the decision. partners of the time.

The statement affirms that the amendments deviate from the correct legal path in the expected reform, emphasizing that instead of activating the applicable laws and seeking the causes of existing imbalances and finding solutions, the amendments deviate from all this, to produce a legislative amendment afflicted with a serious constitutional, legal and realistic defect.

The Union also affirmed its rejection of any attack on the independence of the judiciary, as it is the bulwark of rights and freedoms, which is evident in removing the requirement of a university degree and a diploma from the Judicial Institute for anyone serving on the judiciary, and replacing it with an exception that includes irregular standards (Islamic Sharia scholars with degrees in jurisprudence and known for their competence, integrity and reform among the people), according to the expression contained in this amendment.

The statement confirms the union’s rejection of the draft amendments, considering that they were directly aimed at harming the legal profession, by giving judges the right, provided for in article (122), paragraph (B), to include lawyers on the list of persons prohibited from pleading before them for a period of at least three years, on the basis of false allegations referred to in article (170) of the Code of Procedure in force, considering that what happened represents a real step backwards legislative and legal.

The union said it still hopes for direct intervention from the Chairman of the Supreme Political Council to respond to its demands, based on its use of its constitutional powers to reject the draft amendments and send it back to the House of Representatives to correct similar constitutional and legislative defects, so as to ensure compliance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers and non-interference in the affairs of the legal profession, as it is a free and independent profession regulated by a special law.

Text of the declaration

The Bar Association held an expanded meeting at the association’s headquarters, which was attended by the union’s General Council, a number of members of the Sanaa branch and a group of members of the General Assembly. This was a draft amendment to the Judicial Authority Law No. (1) of 1991 AD, which I was surprised to see presented by the government in the House of Representatives, which was considered during its session held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 AD. It was affirmed and decided that the amendment responded to the need to accelerate the reform of the imbalances and deficiencies of the agencies of the authority. Judicial.

The publication of this disastrous draft came amid the celebrations of our great Yemeni people on the occasion of the Prophet’s birthday, to represent a legislative setback that reflects a serious desire to tear national cohesion and deepen the concepts of legislative separation on the ground, which disrupts the peace of this honorable occasion, contributes to dividing the national ranks and represents a violation of the legislative unity of the country.

By carefully examining the amendments presented, we see that they reflect individual desires to subjugate the judiciary and transform it from an independent authority into an organ subordinate to the executive power.

The Bar Association confirms that it is not necessary to make legal changes at this critical stage, especially since the draft of these amendments is far from responding to a solid legislative logic (practical, scientific, philosophical) and that all the justifications put forward were worse than the amendments themselves, because they were hidden by the judicial reform and are very far from it.

The draft amendments constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen and in all the constitutions of civilized countries, and the matter does not end there. On the contrary, the explanatory memorandum directly affected the sanctity of the constitutional provisions, when it stated that the constitutional decision issued in Case No. (20/23) of 1434 AH, during the session of the Constitutional Chamber on 05/26/2013 AD, declared a number of articles of the Judicial Authority Law unconstitutional – claiming that this decision was the result of political squabbles between the ruling partners at the era.

These amendments deviate from the appropriate legal path towards the expected reform. Instead of activating applicable laws, investigating the causes of existing imbalances and finding solutions, they deviated from all this to produce a legislative amendment suffering from serious constitutional, legal and realistic flaws.

The Bar Association affirms its rejection of any attack on the independence of the judiciary, which represents the bulwark of rights and freedoms, which is manifested by removing the requirement of a university degree and a diploma from the Judicial Institute for those who sit in the judiciary and replacing it with an exception that includes irregular criteria (scholars of Islamic Sharia holding degrees in jurisprudence and known for their competence, integrity and reform among the people), according to the expression contained in this amendment.

We affirm our rejection of the draft amendments, which directly aim to harm the legal profession by giving judges the right, provided for in article (122), paragraph (B), to include lawyers on the list of persons prohibited from pleading before them for a period of at least three years, on false allegations covered by article (170) of the law on pleadings in force, which represents a real legislative and legal step backwards.

The Bar Association affirms its categorical rejection and its clear position against the proposed amendments to the law on the judicial authority and calls on all lawyers and members of the judiciary to unite to face these amendments.

It also calls on the Arab Lawyers Union and all civil society organizations to join the union in supporting its position against these amendments.

We still hope for a direct intervention by the Chairman of the Supreme Political Council to respond to our requests, relying on his constitutional powers to reject the draft amendments and send it back to the House of Representatives to correct similar constitutional and legislative defects, so as to ensure compliance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers, as well as non-interference in the affairs of the legal profession, since it is a free and independent profession regulated by a special law.

I swear there’s no intention behind it

Yemeni Bar
Wednesday September 11, 2024 AD

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