A general view of the first Egyptian parliament session after the revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo January 23, 2012 (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) adjourned the appeal of the dissolution of the Lower House of Parliament to 15 October. The court was supposed to rule on Saturday on whether the now-dissolved parliament should be reinstated.
The High Constitutional Court (HCC) had ruled on 14 June that the elections law that voted-in members of parliament to the People’s Assembly (lower house) was unconstitutional. The assembly was consequently dissolved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).
Days after president Mohamed Morsi was sworn in, he attempted to reinstate parliament's lower house, but his order was found to be legally flawed.
Lawyers defending the reinstatement of parliament, however, appealed the HCC ruling, which is now being considered by the SAC.
Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud says that the court's postponement on Saturday of the appeal means that, in effect, the parliament will not be reinstated.
The attorney argues that the court will not give a final judgment in the hearing scheduled for mid-October, since the next session is simply for the lawyers to hand in additional required documents.
By the time the court gets around to issuing a ruling, he continues, it will be too late because the constitution should be drafted by then and parliamentary elections would soon follow.
According to the latest constitutional declaration addendum, parliamentary elections will take place two months after the approval of the new constitution - and the Constituent Assembly is currently plowing through the drafting process.
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