The State Council is expected to reveal on Tuesday its final verdict on the maritime demarcation agreement that saw the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia in April.
Rights defender Khaled Ali, who is at the helm of the plaintiff alongside Ali Ayoub and Ismail Osman, brought forth an emphatic plea against the state’s decision to cede the islands earlier this month.
Ali and the others have speculated about the possible courses the verdict may take and believe that there are six likely outcomes.
In a statement made on his Facebook page shortly after the trial, Ali said that he believes the court could find that it has no jurisdiction over the matter because the cession constitutes an act of state sovereignty. Another possibility is the court could reject the case on grounds of the absence of the administrative court as the agreement is yet to be approved by parliament.
Ali added that it would be most favourable if the court instead deemed the agreement illegal or ruled that the government must put the cession to a public referendum.
Additionally, the court could also step down from the case or give a preliminary sentence seconding the commissioners who would urge a committee to look further into the matter while temporarily stopping the cession until the case is adjudicated upon.
Evidence to back the government’s decision for the delineation is yet to be made public, something Ali repeatedly called on the court to demand during his plea.
The sovereignty transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands sparked widespread opposition among both pro-government and anti-government factions in Egypt, with many activists and demonstrators landing in jail for contesting the matter.
Lawyer and plaintiff Malek Adly, who was to back Ali during the proceedings, was arrested in May and charged with attempting to overthrow the regime, spreading false rumours, and inciting demonstrations among others.
