Egypt's High Administrative Court set 7 February to rule on a lawsuit against the cabinet’s decision to refer the Egyptian-Saudi maritime re-demarcation deal to parliament for voting.

A number of Egyptian rights lawyers filed on Saturday a lawsuit at the administrative court against the cabinet’s recent decision to refer the deal, which is currently being contested in court, to parliament for voting.

The deal, reached on 8 April between Cairo and Riyadh, would transfer the two Egyptian Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi territory.

In June, the administrative court ruled that the agreement is void and that the islands should remain under Egyptian sovereignty.

However, Egypt's State Lawsuits Authority – the body representing the government in legal cases – later filed and won a lawsuit in front of a court for urgent matters to stop the administrative court’s verdict from being implemented.

On Thursday, Egypt’s cabinet approved the agreement and referred it to parliament for voting.

Egypt's High Administrative Court has set 16 January to rule on the cabinet’s appeal against the June ruling.