| Date: 10/07/2012 Time: 10:51:00 PM |
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has frozen a
recent decree issued by President Mohammad Morsi reinstating parliament, just
hours after it reconvened.
The court also ordered its earlier ruling annulling the parliament be put
in force.
The court had previously ruled that the law of the parliament election was
null and void and thereupon the elected parliament was invalid.
But, President Morsi signed a decree on Sunday reinstating the People's
Assembly, lower house of parliament, and allowing it to reconvene, prompting
the SCC to confirm that all of its rulings were "binding" for all state bodies
in the country.
However, Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament convened on Tuesday in
defiance of the ruling by the country's highest court.
The MPs' session was brief - it lasted just five minutes - but it pushed
Egypt deeper into a potential power struggle between the new president and the
powerful military, which has vowed to uphold the judicial ruling that led to
parliament being dissolved.
Parliament Speaker Saad Al-Katatni told MPs that the legislature met to
find ways to implement the court ruling rather than debate it out of respect
for the principles of "the supremacy of the law and separation of authorities.
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