Egypt's legislative reform committee holds first meeting

Ahram Online, Thursday 14 Aug 2014

The committee, led by Egypt's prime minister, was formed to streamline new draft laws with the country's constitution

Ibrahim Mahlab
Egypt's PM. Ibrahim Mahlab (Photo: Reuters)

A supreme legislative reform committee held its first meeting Thursday, led by Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, state news agency MENA said.

The committee was formed by a presidential decree in June to prepare, research and study the needed decisions and draft laws that should be issued to comply with the country's new constitution, passed in January 2014.

The committee should also coordinate between the new draft laws and the existing ones to ensure there is no contradiction or ambiguity.

Legislative power remains in the hands of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi until an elected parliament is sworn in. Parliamentary elections are expected by the end of this year.

The panel is headed by Mahlab and includes ministers of parliamentary affairs and transitional justice, the head of the State Council, the state's Mufti, Al-Azhar's deputy, the head of the cabinet's advisory board, the head of the State Council's legislative department and the justice minister's assistant for legislation.

The committee also includes judges, lawyers, law professors and legal experts.

Egypt's upper house of parliament was dissolved as part of the roadmap announced by authorities after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer. The procedure transferred legislative powers to the president.
 

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