Egypt’s Judges Step Forward: The Judicial Election Boycott and Egyptian Reform

{
  "authors": [
    "Nathan J. Brown"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "democracy",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "DCG",
  "programs": [
    "Democracy, Conflict, and Governance",
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Middle East",
    "Egypt"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Economy"
  ]
}

Other

Egypt’s Judges Step Forward: The Judicial Election Boycott and Egyptian Reform

In a startling development this month, the Egyptian Judges Club decided to boycott their constitutionally mandated role of supervising upcoming elections. Is the Egyptian judiciary on a quest to transform Mubarak’s regime? Rather than a bold move toward regime change, this is a calibrated confrontation with narrower aims: to secure judicial reform and support electoral reform.

By Nathan J. Brown

Published on May 25, 2005

In a startling development this month, the Egyptian Judges Club decided to boycott their constitutionally mandated role of supervising upcoming elections. Is the Egyptian judiciary on a quest to transform Mubarak’s regime? In a new Carnegie Endowment Policy Outlook, Arab constitutionalism expert Nathan Brown and Egyptian Judge Hesham Nasr argue that rather than a bold move toward regime change, this is a calibrated confrontation with narrower aims: to secure judicial reform and support electoral reform. Brown and Nasr predict that the likely outcome of this standoff will be a series of regime concessions that, while limited, may nonetheless have significant long-term effects on opening a closed political system.

Click on link above for the full text of this Policy Outlook.

About the Author
Nathan J. Brown is a senior associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is an expert on Arab constitutionalism and has written several books on Arab politics.

About the Author

Nathan J. Brown

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, is a distinguished scholar and author of nine books on Arab politics and governance, as well as editor of five books.

Recent Work

Commentary
Old Wine in New Battles
- Nathan J. Brown
Commentary
In the Trump Gaza Plan, Diplomatic Failure is Success
- Nathan J. Brown

Political Reform Democracy Economy North America United States Middle East Egypt

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary
China Financial Markets
The Plaza Accord and Its Relevance for China
The Plaza Accord was not an externally imposed punishment of Japan but part of a broader restructuring that Japanese economists and policymakers themselves recognized was necessary. Its effects were undermined, however, when Tokyo responded to the resulting slowdown with policies that exacerbated investment, credit expansion, and the very imbalances the adjustment was intended to resolve.
Michael Pettis
Paper
Untangling the Nuclear Knot: A Constructive Agenda for Managing China’s Nuclear Relations with the United States and Its Allies
The nuclear relationship between China and the United States is increasingly shaped by widening perception gaps rather than deliberate strategic design.
Tong Zhao
Commentary
China Financial Markets
Who Paid for China’s Last Debt Cleanup, and Who Will Pay for the Next?
China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.
Michael Pettis
Commentary
Emissary
Trump and Xi Are Angling for Three Years of Stability
But their "principal to principal" model will only be as effective as the political strength of each leader back home.
Damien Ma
Commentary
China Sells Stability Amid American Volatility
U.S. unpredictability has allowed China to capitalize on its positioning as the “responsible great power”. Paradoxically, the more China wins the perception game, the more likely expectations will rise for Beijing to deliver not just words but to demonstrate with its deeds.
Chong Ja Ian

Egypt’s Judges Step Forward: The Judicial Election Boycott and Egyptian Reform

In a startling development this month, the Egyptian Judges Club decided to boycott their constitutionally mandated role of supervising upcoming elections. Is the Egyptian judiciary on a quest to transform Mubarak’s regime? Rather than a bold move toward regime change, this is a calibrated confrontation with narrower aims: to secure judicial reform and support electoral reform.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary

China Financial Markets

The Plaza Accord and Its Relevance for China

The Plaza Accord was not an externally imposed punishment of Japan but part of a broader restructuring that Japanese economists and policymakers themselves recognized was necessary. Its effects were undermined, however, when Tokyo responded to the resulting slowdown with policies that exacerbated investment, credit expansion, and the very imbalances the adjustment was intended to resolve.

Michael Pettis

The nuclear missile formation passes through Tian'anmen Square during a military parade on September 3, 2025 in Beijing, China.

Paper

Untangling the Nuclear Knot: A Constructive Agenda for Managing China’s Nuclear Relations with the United States and Its Allies

The nuclear relationship between China and the United States is increasingly shaped by widening perception gaps rather than deliberate strategic design.

Tong Zhao

Commentary

China Financial Markets

Who Paid for China’s Last Debt Cleanup, and Who Will Pay for the Next?

China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.

Michael Pettis

Commentary

Emissary

Trump and Xi Are Angling for Three Years of Stability

But their "principal to principal" model will only be as effective as the political strength of each leader back home.

Damien Ma

Commentary

China Sells Stability Amid American Volatility

U.S. unpredictability has allowed China to capitalize on its positioning as the “responsible great power”. Paradoxically, the more China wins the perception game, the more likely expectations will rise for Beijing to deliver not just words but to demonstrate with its deeds.

Chong Ja Ian