The State Council’s Administrative Court on Tuesday criticized Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, saying it "restricts the court’s jurisdiction overseeing the legality of the Presidential Election Commission’s decisions, and ties the hands of the judiciary as a whole."
The article grants the commission immunity against challenges of its decisions, which has sparked criticism from legal experts who questioned the fairness of elections held under the article.
The court also said the article contradicts other articles that grant the right of litigation to all citizens, such as Article 21, which prohibits immunity of any act or administrative decision against judicial review, and assigns the State Council to rule in administrative disputes, which applies to the Presidential Elections Commission.
Legal experts and MPs have attacked Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration. Mokhtar Nouh, a former candidate for Lawyers’ Syndicate chairman, says this article is designed for rigging the presidential elections
MP Abul Ezz al-Hariry said during a People’s Assembly session in February that “If the presidential election is held under Article 28, then the election of Egypt’s next president will be void, as preventing the challenge of any administrative decision is a violation of human rights and because the article which revokes litigation is invalid.”
