The trial of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been adjourned until 28 December as a judiciary panel descides on whether or not to replace the presiding judge, Ahmed Refaat.

Sunday's session, which started at 10am, lasted less than 15 minutes when Refaat postponed the case amid uncertainty regarding his position.

The defendants, including Mubarak and former interior minister Habib El-Adly, will be remanded in custody until then.

The judge's position hangs in the balance after some of the lawyers representing the victims of Egypt's revolution demanded that Refaat be replaced following the session in which Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's de facto ruler, testified.

The lawyers complained they were not given sufficient time to question Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), in what has been branded by local media as the "trial of the century."

Some pundits have criticised the lawyers, saying their manoeuvre would backfire and further delay the trial.

Mubarak is accused of conspiring with El-Adly to intentionally kill hundreds of peaceful protestors during the January 25 Revolution in order to protect his regime against the uprising that eventually swept the dictator and his inner circle from power.

Six former interior ministry officials face similar charges.