Twenty-five Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court on Saturday, demanding the constitutional declaration President Mohamed Morsy issued on Thursday be revoked.
The president’s constitutional declaration stated, among other things, that Morsy’s decisions were above judicial review.
The NGOs explained in a statement that what Morsy released isn’t a constitutional declaration, but an administrative decision, which thus falls under the jurisdiction of the administrative judiciary.
“Morsy’s decision is a collection of tyrannical orders which defeat the independence of the judiciary and the law’s sovereignty, and stall the right to refuge for the judiciary,” the statement released by the NGOs read.
The NGOs added in their statement that by issuing that decision, Morsy seized control of all state authorities. Being an elected president, Morsy has the executive authority. In the absence of a Peoples’ Assembly, Morsy is temporarily in charge of the legislative authority. And after this decision, Morsy has claimed for himself constituent and judiciary authority, the statement read.
The NGOs who signed the statement include; the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR), the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), Al-Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Violence and Torture Victims and the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre (HMLC).
