The Administrative Court on Tuesday will review a case contesting the makeup of the Parliament-elected assembly tasked with writing Egypt’s new constitution.
Hafez Abu Seada, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, filed the case. Activists and lawyers plan to protest in front of the State Council as the court examines the case.
This week, Parliament’s two chambers selected the 100-member panel to draft a new constitution. The panel includes nearly 60 Islamists and only six women and six Christians.
Many secular political forces have withdrawn from the body, saying it does not represent all of Egyptian society.
On 5 March, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights filed a lawsuit before the State Council to call for suspending the election of the constituent assembly, saying it feared the assembly’s composition would not fairly represent all social groups.
The lawsuit said the fact that the People’s Assembly will elect some of its members to the constituent assembly will cause one government branch, the legislature, to monopolize the assembly.
The possibility that a single group could dominate the constituent assembly could lead to the adoption of a constitution that establishes a parliamentary system, the lawsuit said, in violation of existing practice and the people’s desires.
The State Council has the jurisdiction to rule on disputes involving administrative or government institutions. The Administrative Court is one of the two main bodies that comprise the State Council.
