The Administrative Court decided on Tuesday to look into a lawsuit filed by lawyer Khaled Ali against the ruling by the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters, which overturned a verdict annulling the Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation agreement on 17 April.
The “Red Sea Islands” case, which seeks to transfer the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, is to be viewed again by the Administrative Court (which had recently resolved the issue when it annulled the agreement on 16 January, resuming Egyptian sovereignty over the Islands).
The court ruling was issued on Sunday, thereby continuing the agreement of seeking the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. In response to this, Ali, a lawyer who initially brought the controversial agreement to court, decided to file against it.
The constitution states that the State Council is an autonomous judicial body, and it shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to settle administrative disputes and those related to its own rulings. This implies that the State Council is considered the highest judicial entity in the country.
Disputes over the islands’ sovereignty continue in Egyptian courts, amid no response from Saudi Arabia so far.
On 8 April, the government concluded the demarcation deal that sought to transfer the sovereignty of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia during an official visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
