Cairo Court for Urgent Matters said on Monday it does not have the jurisdiction to rule in a lawsuit that calls for labeling the banned April 6 Youth Movement a "terrorist organization."

The court explained that it could not rule on the matter since Article 3 of a newly passed "terrorist entities' law" stipulates that only criminal courts can rule on such issues.

Following the court's decision, the plaintiff, lawyer Ashraf Farahat, told Ahram Online he would ask the prosecutor-general on Tuesday to designate the group as a terrorist entity.

In April 2014, the group, which played a key role in organising for the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak, was banned by the same court in a separate case over espionage charges. 

Despite the banning verdict, the group commemorated its eighth anniversary earlier this month. However, members held the anniversary in the desert, citing "police harassment."

April 6 was founded in 2008 and named after the day a mini-uprising took place in the industrial city of Mahalah against the former autocrat.

Prior to the January 2011 uprising, the group was persecuted by police, but later they were celebrated by many for their role in fomenting the uprising.

Since the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the movement, which opposes both the Muslim Brotherhood and the post-Morsi government, has been denounced by some Egyptian media outlets.

Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel, two of the of the founders of the movement, are currently serving three years in prison for breaking a law that criminalises unlicensed protests.