Lawsuit Demanding Access to Official Copies of Judicial Rulings via the Electronic Portal for Lawyers Without a Power of Attorney

Lawyers from the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights — Mr. Malek Mostafa Adly, Mr. Khaled Gad Salem Gad, Mr. Sameh Samir Abdel Hamid, and Mr. Mohamed Sayed Mohamed Tawfiq filed Lawsuit No. 86230 of Judicial Year 79 before the Administrative Court against the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor, in their official capacities.

The plaintiffs petitioned for the suspension and annulment of the negative decision by the defendants, namely their failure to update the lawyers’ electronic portal system to allow access to copies of judicial rulings without the requirement of submitting a power of attorney from one of the litigating parties.

The lawsuit noted that on May 30, 2025, the Public Prosecution issued a statement declaring that paper-based dealings with lawyers in cases registered before 2023 would be discontinued, and that requests must thereafter be submitted exclusively through the electronic portal.

However, upon using the system, lawyers were confronted with a mandatory requirement to attach a copy of the applicant’s power of attorney in order to establish legal standing, whether the request concerned criminal judgments or family court rulings. This, the lawsuit argues, is in direct violation of the Constitution (Article 100) and the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure (Article 180), both of which stipulate that judgments are issued in the name of the people and that any citizen may obtain a copy thereof without having to demonstrate standing.

The claim emphasized that Egyptian judicial practice has, for decades, consistently recognized the right of any Egyptian citizen to obtain copies of judgments upon presenting a national ID card and paying the prescribed fees, without the need to prove standing in the case. This principle is grounded in the understanding that judicial rulings represent the truth and are issued in the name of the people.

The plaintiffs further asserted that conditioning access on legal standing or a power of attorney constitutes an infringement upon citizens’ constitutional rights, obstructs the proper administration of justice, and restricts access to legal knowledge despite the fact that modernization of the judicial system is intended to facilitate, not hinder, such access.

The lawsuit explained that the Center’s lawyers had submitted requests through the portal for official copies of criminal judgments, attaching either a copy of their national ID card or their Bar Association membership card. Nevertheless, the system rejected the requests, forcing them to send telegrams to the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor, to which no response was received.

Accordingly, the Center urgently requested the court to suspend the contested negative decision, citing the irreparable harm that would result from its continuation, particularly the disruption of the work of both lawyers and litigants and, on the merits, to annul the decision entirely and order the defendants to bear the costs.