Freedom and Justice Party Press Release: Court Rules to Dissolve Elected People’s Assembly

Freedom and Justice Party Press Release: Court Rules to Dissolve Elected People’s Assembly

 Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) deliberated Saturday, September 22, the matter of disbanding the People’s Assembly (the lower house of parliament) in the appeal submitted by Anwar Sabih Darwish against the Banha Court of Administrative Justice’s decision in that case.



The SAC had referred that case to the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) to consider the constitutionality of some articles of the law of the People’s Assembly. On June 14, 2012 the SCC ruled those articles unconstitutional.


Accordingly, the SCC decided that the People’s Assembly was legally dissolved. Then, the SCC referred the case back to the SAC to rule on the main issue of the case, and set today’s session for consideration of the same.


Hence, Saturday, the SAC heard arguments of lawyers, the appellant and the government. The SAC then decided to postpone the case to a hearing on October 15, 2012. Everyone accepted this decision.


However, at 5.25PM on the same Saturday, everyone was surprised to hear that the SAC has issued a ruling in the case number 6411, filed by Ms. Magida Nabil, about the same issue, requesting a halt in implementation of the decision requiring a second election round for the individual seat in the Coast (El-Sahel) constituency. In this case, the SAC ruled that it accepted the SCC’s original decision to dissolve the People’s Assembly completely.


This is surprising, because if the SAC had accepted that decision, why did it postpone one case and rule so suddenly in the other (in a session where the litigants in the case – individual seat winners in Sahel constituency – did not attend, and no arguments or defense were heard).


We, as men of the law, demand that there be transparency, consistency and coherence in legal decision-making, particularly with regard to the rights and freedoms of interest to the entire Egyptian people and the parliament freely elected by more than thirty million citizens.


We affirm that we will take all legal action allowed by the Constitution and the law in this matter.
 
May God protect Egypt, its people and its judiciary from all evil.


The Legal Committee


Freedom and Justice Party


September 22, 2012