CAIRO — Egypt’s association of judges called Saturday for the judicial system to come to a halt to fight an assertion of near-absolute power
by the nation’s first democratically elected president, setting the
stage for a confrontation between the courts and a man who has said his
will is not subject to appeal.
Judges across the country vowed to strike, and lawyers filed
several legal challenges to the move by President Mohamed Morsi, who has
said he is assuming broad powers temporarily to combat entrenched
remnants of the former authoritarian government. The constitutional
court, meanwhile, hinted that it may weigh in on the matter, directly
challenging the man who has tried to sideline them.
