Legal experts on Tuesday said the Administrative Court's decision to halt the formation of the Constituent Assembly would produce a balanced constitution that represents the whole of the country.
"The ruling stops a majority that thinks it dominates the fate of the people from tampering with Egypt’s future,” said Hossam Eissa, professor of constitutional law at Cairo University. “That majority was chosen to serve for only five years and then go.”
“The new assembly should include all segments of Egyptian society with their different political and cultural trends, in addition to Al-Azhar and the church," he added, ruling out that the judgement will not be carried out. “The law must be respected because it shields freedoms."
Ahmed Taha, spokesperson from the National Assembly for Change, and Sayed Abdel Ali, secretary general of the Tagammu Party, agreed with Eissa.
Gamal Gabriel, professor of law at Helwan University, explained that challenging the ruling does not halt its implementation. “According to the ruling, the assembly has never existed,” he said.
“The verdict was expected,” said legal expert Mohamed Nour Farahat, adding that the Islamic majority in Parliament may now choose other members for the assembly from outside Parliament, who are loyal to them, which will bring the problem back to square one, or it could agree with all political forces on criteria for the new assembly to truly represent the whole of society.
“A third option would be for the military council to meet its promise to the people of Egypt and announce a constitutional declaration setting fair standards for the assembly,” he said.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
