By virtue of a decision handed down recently by the Cairo Court of Appeals, the registration of about 40,000 lawyers with the Bar Association was declared null and void. These lawyers joined the Association during the past three years, during which the syndicate was run by court-appointed custodians. The Court of Appeals ruled that the custodians are authorised only to run the Association's finances, but have no legal right to take charge of professional matters. The court also ruled that custodianship does not mean a dissolution of the syndicate's elected council, which should continue to perform its administrative tasks.
Legal experts believe that the court's decision has serious consequences.
They will not be able to start a career until the Bar Association crisis is resolved. And yet, it exceeded its limits and played the role of the syndicate's council. During the past three years, the custodianship committee took over administrative tasks. They gave themselves the right to register lawyers with the Association, appoint and dismiss employees and shut down the syndicate's headquarters. El-Banna said the ruling of the Court of Appeals was not the first to define the responsibilities of the custodians.