Presidential appointment of judges proves controversial: The amendments to the judicial code are getting plenty of flak from Egypt’s columnists, including Fahmy Howeidy, who takes to the pages of Al Shorouk to say the amendments are an insult to the judiciary that contravene the constitution. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi “hastily” signing the amendments into law is a clear infringement on the judicial branch’s independence and is reminiscent of pre-2011 practices where the executive branch issued tailored laws to control the judiciary, MP Amr El Shobaky says in a column penned for Al Masry Al Youm. Salwa Ammar notes in the same newspaper that the speed at which the amendments were ratified stands in stark contrast with the government’s approach to more pressing issues, such as improving living standards.

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