Egypt's Court of Cassation rejected on Tuesday an appeal filed by former prosecutor-general Abdel Meguid Mahmoud against the constitutional decree that removed him from his position last year.

On 27 March, Egypt's Court of Appeal reversed President Mohamed Morsi's decision to dismiss Mahmoud from his post and appoint Talaat Abdullah in his place, in a constitutional decree issued in November 2012.

Morsi’s move had sparked criticism as under Egyptian law, the prosecutor-general can only be dismissed by judicial decree, not by the president.

However, on 18 April Mahmoud appealed the court's ruling reinstating him as the country's top prosecutor, citing the delay in implementing the reinstatement and the fact that the verdict failed to describe the constitutional decree as null and void.

The court has scheduled a session for 2 July to look into all appeals filed by Mahmoud and current prosecutor-general Talaat Abdullah with regards to the position.

Mahmoud also requested to view the documents related to the court's ruling, a request that an appeal court will look into on 21 July.

Abdullah filed an appeal on 21 April against the court verdict that mandated his dismissal.

Abdullah asserted that the verdict was non-enforceable on the grounds that it violated both the law and constitution.

Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) which is responsible under the new constitution for appointing Egypt's prosecutor-general, does not have the authority to dismiss him, thus preventing the SJC from sacking Abdullah.

The prosecutor-general issue sparked tensions in recent months.

While Mahmoud was seen as a Mubarak loyalist, Abdullah is now accused by some opposition groups of being beholden to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood group from which the president hails.