Hossam El-Gheriany (born 1941) is an Egyptian judge. Winning recognition as a champion of

judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

in the regime of

President Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

, he became head of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Court of Cassation. Today he also heads the

Constituent Assembly of Egypt The Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012 (CA) is the committee for the creation of a new Constitution of Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood had announced that the Constituent Assembly would vote on the constitution on 29 November 2012. The Constitu ...

and is president of the

National Council for Human Rights The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) is an Egyptian human rights organization established in 2003 with a mission of promoting and maintaining human rights in Egypt. The NCHR publishes annual reports concerning the current status of human ...

Life

Born in Sharqiya Governorate in the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...

, Hossam El-Gheriany gained a BA in law from the

University of Alexandria Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

in 1962. He worked for the public prosecutor's office for twelve years, witnessing

Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced Egyptian ...

's 1969 attack on the judiciary. He became a judge in 1974. Gaining varied experience as a judge - including two years in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and some time in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

- he became a chancellor in Egypt's

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

in 1986.Ahmed Zaki Osman
In Egypt’s troubled judiciary, Gheriany stands as a savior
''

Egypt Independent ''Egypt Independent'' is an online newspaper that formerly published a weekly 24-page English-language edition of the Egyptian newspaper, ''Al-Masry Al-Youm''. History On 24 November 2011, the first print edition of ''Egypt Independent'' was pu ...

'', 24 March 2012. In 1986 Hossam El-Gheriany,

Yahya al-Refai Yahya may refer to: * Yahya (name), a common Arabic male given name * Yahya (Zaragoza), 11th-century ruler of Zaragoza * John the Baptist in Islam, also known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā See also * Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological ...

and

Ahmed Mekky Ahmed Mekky ( ar, أحمد مكي; born June 19, 1980) is an Egyptian actor, writer, director and rapper. Personal life Ahmed Mekky was born in Oran, Algeria as a son of an Egyptian mother and an Algerian father. He was raised as a boy in the ...

organized a conference, attended by

, calling for the

independence of the judiciary Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

. In 2005 he wrote a report criticizing illegal interventions by the government in amending the way the president is elected. He criticized Mubarak for rigging the referendum over the multi-candidate presidential election of 2005, as well as the subsequent parliamentary election. After Mubarak's regime referred two judges to a disciplinary board for their "outspoken criticism", Gheriani mobilized judges in their support. Elected to the

, Gheriany was nominated president of the assembly at its first meeting on 18 June 2012. A week later he threatened resignation, holding and winning a vote of confidence on his Constituent Assembly presidency. In September 2012 the

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura ( ar, مجلس الشورى; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a Caliph, khalifa (Islamic leader) may be s ...

appointed Gheriany President of the

.Who's who in Egypt's reshuffled Human Rights Council
''

Ahram Online ''Al-Ahram'' ( ar, الأهرام; ''The Pyramids''), founded on 5 August 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after '' al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majori ...

'', 4 September 2012.

References

1941 births Living people 20th-century Egyptian judges People of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 People from Sharqia Governorate 21st-century Egyptian judges {{Egypt-bio-stub