Judges in Egypt have refused to oversee a vote on the country’s new draft constitution announced by president Mohamed Morsi.

The Judges’ Club’s decision follows a confrontation between Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court and Islamist supporters of Morsi. The court said it was suspending its work after members were prevented from ruling on the legitimacy of the body that drew up the new constitution.

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has called on president Morsi ‘to reconsider the recent constitutional amendments in light of international standards as outlined under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and to recognise the critical need for respecting the independence of the judiciary as a fundamental pillar of a society that respects the rule of law and human rights.’

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