Head of Constitution drafting committee Amr Moussa met with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Wednesday to discuss the suggested judicial amendments to the 2012 suspended constitution, Ahram's Arabic news website reported.
According to a statement issued by the SJC detailing the outcomes of the meeting, Moussa and the council discussed the proposed amendments to constitutional articles related to judicial authority and the general prosecution.
The Council proposed selecting the prosecutor-general from among the Cassation prosecutors, with Council approval, and that the term of office is determined by judicial authority law.
In addition, the Council has emphasised the need for the constitution to stipulate the retirement age of judges and prohibit the amendment of judicial authority law without the approval of the SJC and two-thirds of the members of the legislative council.
The judiciary was engaged in a prolonged political standoff with ousted president Mohamed Morsi and his supporters, starting in November 2012 when Morsi issued a decree sacking Mubarak-era prosecutor-general Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud and appointed Judge Talaat Abdullah in his place.
The move prompted uproar, with a number of judges accusing Morsi of infringing on judicial independence. According to Egyptian law, they argued, the SJC is the only entity with the right to appoint a new prosecutor-general.
Last May, judges went on strike to protest proposed amendments to the judicial authority law by Islamist MPs in the Shura Council's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The amendments focused on cutting the age of retirement for judges from 70 to 60, a measure that has been strongly criticised by many judges as it would have excluded over 3000 of them.
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