I. INTRODUCTION
When it comes to Muslim countries, a lot of attention is focussed on the compliance of laws and government behaviour with human rights. Yet, very little attention is focused on the role of the judiciary in implementing human rights standards.
The view of Justice Abd-el-Rehman Nosseir of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt is that the judiciary is the real bastion of human rights, representing ‘the safety valve which balances human rights on the one hand, and public order or the stability of the society on the other’.[1] It is widely acknowledged amongst jurists that the judiciary occupies a unique position with regard to human rights issues.[2] Indeed, the entire gamut of constitutional and legislative guarantees could not reduce human rights violations in a State unless the judiciary gave them real effect.
[1] AER Nosseir, ‘The Supreme constitutional court of Egypt and the protection of human rights’, in E Cotran and AO Sherif (eds) The role of the Judiciary in the protection of Human Rights (Brill in association with CIMEL, Leiden 1997) 47-59.
[2] M Gibney and S Frankowski (eds), Judicial Protection of Human Rights: Myth or Reality. (Praeger, Westport CT 1999).