Court order dissolves Commercial Professions Syndicate board

A court ordered the dissolution of the Syndicate of Commercial Professions’ executive boards on Monday, placing the syndicate under court-appointed custody until new board members are elected.

The ruling applies to the general syndicate, which has its headquarters in Cairo, as well as its 23 branch syndicates in other governorates.

The decision follows reports from the Central Auditing Authority that allege evidence of “financial irregularities” within the syndicate.

Elections have been overdue at this professional syndicate for 24 years, with the last elections held in 1992. According to the syndicate’s bylaws, executive board elections should take place every four years.

The lawsuit against the Syndicate of Commercial Professions was filed by the syndicate’s legal accountant, Hamdy Abdel Fattah, the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper reported.

Abdel Fattah told Al-Shorouk that many of the elected board members, at both the central and provincial levels, died several years ago and were replaced by unelected representatives.

The dates of any upcoming elections are determined by the syndicate’s general assembly.

Unlike several other professional syndicates, such as the journalists, doctors and lawyers syndicates, the Syndicate of Commercial Professions has not directly engaged in political discourse, nor has its leadership been dominated by any particular group.

This summer a lawsuit was filed by a group of pro-government media personalities against the executive board of the Journalists Syndicate, in a bid to place the syndicate under judicial sequestration and hold early elections. This was rejected by the Court of Urgent Matters in July.

Judicial sequestration was imposed on the Engineers Syndicate from 1995 to 2011, when its executive boards were largely controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. The courts defended this action based on evidence of “massive financial irregularities” within the syndicate.

The minister of irrigation was tasked with appointing caretaker committees for the Engineers Syndicate during its 16 years of sequestration.

Articles 76 and 77 of the Egyptian Constitution of 2014 safeguard the rights of professional associations. Article 76 stipulates: “The state shall guarantee the independence of syndicates and unions. Their boards of directors may not be dissolved without a court order.” Article 77 stipulates: “No sequestration shall be imposed … [nor] intervention from administrative authorities permitted … Executive boards may not be dissolved, except through a court order.”

Several of Egypt’s previous constitutions have also contained similar safeguards over the rights of professional associations.