Egypt Court Invalidates Senate, Constitution Panel as Presidency Says Senate to Keep Powers

Egypt's highest court on Sunday invalidated the Islamist-dominated Senate and a panel that drafted the constitution, throwing the country into fresh political uncertainty, as the presidency said the Senate will maintain its legislative powers until a new parliament is elected.

The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) said the law governing the elections of the Shura Council was unconstitutional, as were the rules for the selection of the members of a committee that drafted the constitution.

Presiding Judge Maher al-Beheiry said that the Shura Council should remain in place until the election of a new parliament.

Later on Sunday, the presidency said in a statement that the Shura Council, which took legislative powers after parliament was dissolved last year, "will continue in its full legislative role until power is transferred to the new assembly."

It also said that the constitution would remain the country's governing text, even after the same court deemed that the panel that drafted it was illegitimate.

The constitution, which was criticized by opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi for failing to represent all Egyptians, was adopted by a popular referendum in December marked by low voter turnout.

"The constitution, which the people voted for and was approved by a majority, is the reference that must be applied, defended, protected and respected by all state institutions," the presidency statement said.

Some judicial sources said earlier that the Shura Council, a historically powerless body which was thrust into a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, now has no authority to make laws.

But others say the body's powers will be restricted to issuing legislation governing the next elections.

As for the constitution, it will remain in place because it was adopted by a popular referendum, judicial sources said.

Despite the uncertainty over its impact, Sunday's ruling will cast a dark shadow over the legitimacy of the Shura Council and the constitutional panel, which were touted by Morsi as shining examples of Egypt's new democracy.

The constitution was at the heart of a bitter conflict between Morsi's mainly Islamist supporters and his opponents who slammed the text for failing to represent all Egyptians and stifling freedoms.

The conflict had spilled out onto the streets causing the worst political polarization since the popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

"The decision seems to be what you get when the legal and political realms have become so intertwined with each other -- a result of bad law and bad politics," said H.A. Hellyer, Fellow specializing in Egyptian politics at the Brookings Institution.

The SCC "issued a decision that met the political realities half way," Hellyer told Agence France Presse.

The case against the Shura Council is based on several challenges by lawyers of the law that governed the election of its members.

Both the upper and lower houses were elected under the same electoral law, which the SCC last year deemed invalid, prompting the dissolution of parliament.

Ahmed Ramy, spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party -- the political arm of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood -- said the party was still studying the impact of the ruling.

But he said he believes the Shura Council should continue with its work "so as not to create a legislative vacuum."

But others disagree.

"The ruling means that the Senate must abstain from passing any law, because these laws would be contested," said Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyed, professor of political science at Cairo University.

"The fact that it remains in place is a conciliatory gesture," he told AFP.

The ruling creates a crisis for Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyed said, "because they wanted to use the Senate to pass several laws that they feel they could not in a new parliament," said Sayyed.