Geneina’s appeal argues executive orders contravene legal precedent, Constitution

Former head of the Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geneina appeared before an administrative court on Tuesday to appeal the executive decree issued in late March that removed him from his post.

In a copy of the appeal that was made available to Mada Masr, Geneina’s lawyers argue that his dismissal came amid "a concerted state-sponsored media campaign against the appellant," that was championed by pro-regime TV anchors and mainstream talk show hosts and featured salacious accusations, including allegations that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Geneina was first informed of his removal through the media, and later through the state bulletin the Egyptian Gazette. “The administrative authorities, particularly the presidential office, resorted to insulting the appellant, as well as the official post which he presided over, so as to serve as a deterrent against those who engage in the fight against corruption, which is so widespread in Egypt," reads the appeal.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi substantiated his decision to removed Genina from office by appealing to Presidential Decree 89/2015, titled “Regulations for the dismissal of auditors from their posts.”

However, Sisi’s presidential decreee may be considered retroactively void, in light of Article 156 of the Egyptian Constitution of 2014, under which it was necessary for the Parliament, once convened, to discuss and appove all those decrees bearing the force of law that were issued in its absence with 15 days. As the presidential decrees were not presented and properly discussed within this period, under a certain legal interpretation, they may be considered automatically void.

In the appeal, Geneina’s lawyers argue that the order to dismiss the former head of the Central Auditing Authority from office violated the presidential decree which served as its legitimization. Presidential Decree 89/2015 stipulates certain conditions for the dismissal of officials in auditing posts including: “the existence of serious evidence indicating a detriment to the state’s security or integrity, [...] a loss of confidence, [...] a violation of professional duties which harm the country’s greater interests, or public officials," or in the event that an auditor “forfeits the necessary conditions to occupy a position."

Geneina has not been investigated according to any of the decree’s legal provisions, argues the appeal.

The appeal also argues that Sisi’s decision to dismiss Geneina contravenes the Central Auditing Authority regulatory law, which stipulates that the dismissal of the organisation’s top auditor – by order of the president of the republic – requires the subsequent approval of a majority of the members of the Parliament.

In addition to claiming the dismissal violates legal precedent, Geneina’s lawyers also argue that Sisi’s decision infringes upon certain constitutional provisions, including articles 215 and 216.

Article 215 stipulates that the Egyptian state’s auditing authorities and regularity bodies “are legal entities and shall have technical, financial and administrative autonomy. They shall be consulted regarding bills and regulations related to their fields of work.”

Article 216 stipulates that, “The president of the republic shall appoint the heads of these bodies and agencies upon the approval of the House of Representatives by a majority of its members, for a period of four years, which may be renewed once. They shall not be dismissed from their posts except in those cases defined by the law.”

Furthermore, Constitutional Article 218 stipulates that, “The state shall commit to combating corruption," the cause Geneina was defending. 

In closing, the appeal argues that Sisi’s “presidential decrees have stripped these constitutional provisions of their meaning, rendering them meaningless,” continuing to say that, “such executive decrees serve to isolate and weaken both the leadership and general membership of the country’s auditing and regulatory authorities” in breach of Egyptian law. “Such executive decrees do away with the independence and impartiality of auditors, who may now tend to their work with trembling hands, shaking under the mercy of the government’s executive branch, which they were originally entrusted to be overseeing.”