Parliament approves in principle new amendments to laws of judiciary bodies

CAIRO- 9 June 2019: Egypt’s House of Representatives (the lower house of the parliament) on Sunday approved in principle new amendments to judicial laws regulating the highest judicial authorities to constitutionalize President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s 2017 move that broadened his power in regards to the judiciary authority.

In May 2019, the Legislative Committee of the parliament approved the amendments, per which the president will choose one out of seven oldest judges to be the chairperson of any highest judicial body for a four-year term; the chosen judge shall be deputies of the outgoing president of the judicial body.

The president has the right to appoint heads of the Court of Cassation, the state’s attorney general, the Administrative Prosecution Authority, the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority, the Military Prosecution. As for appointing the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the president will choose one out of five oldest judges at the court for its presidency.


In 2017, President Sisi issued a decree to have the right to appoint the heads of highest judicial bodies. At that time, his move was protested by Egypt’s supreme judicial bodies as it violates the judicial power independence, which was guaranteed by the constitution. However the recently-approved amendments to the constitution gave the president this constitutionalized right.