Egypt

Military council laws above judicial authority, says court

An administrative court has turned down a lawsuit requesting the annulment of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' (SCAF) amendments to the law on parliamentary elections.

Laws issued by the ruling military council are of a legislative nature and as such cannot be revised by the judiciary, the court said in reference to the council's amendments.

In its ruling, the court reasoned that Article 56 of the constitutional declaration passed last March assigns to the council the administration of state affairs, meaning it has a legislative capacity and is responsible for devising policies for the state, endorsing the state budget and supervising its implementation, appointing members of parliament, calling parliament to convene – including for emergency sessions, dissolving parliament, and issuing laws and objecting to others, in addition to other powers normally vested in the president of the republic, until an new president and parliament are elected. 

In September, the SCAF issued a constitutional declaration setting 28 November as the beginning date for parliamentary elections. According to the declaration, the elections will take place in three phases and two-thirds of parliament will be contested through a list-based candidacy system, with the remaining third to be based on an individual winner system.

Translated from the Arabic Edition

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