Morsi steps back from confrontation with judges

A supporter of President Mohammed Morsi protests against the Egyptian judicial system on April 19, 2013.  By Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File)

A supporter of President Mohammed Morsi protests against the Egyptian judicial system on April 19, 2013. By Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File)






CAIRO (AFP) – President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday stepped back from a confrontation with the Egyptian judiciary over a proposed new law that would see several thousand judges sacked, proposing a conference to ease disputes.

During a meeting with judges, Morsi agreed to host a conference on Tuesday to resolve disagreements over the proposed new law that would lower the retirement age from 70 to 65, affecting nearly 3,000 judges, his spokesman said.

Morsi pledged to “personally adopt” the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting and send the amendments to the legislature, Ehab Fahmy said in a televised statement.

Morsi has repeatedly clashed with the courts since his election last June, and his supporters have staged protests demanding the judiciary be purged of loyalists of ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak who was overthrown in a 2011 uprising.

Egyptian courts have overturned several of Morsi’s decisions, including a decree to hold parliamentary elections this April and his controversial sacking of a Mubarak-era state prosecutor.

Judges spearheaded a widespread backlash against the Islamist president in November when he adopted wide-ranging powers that put his decisions above judicial review. Morsi has since repealed that decree.