The State Litigation Authority said it was the only body with the right to appeal a court decision overturning Prosecutor General Tala'at Abdallah's appointment and reinstating his predecessor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud. In a statement released on Wednesday night the authority, which acts as legal representation for state institutions, said it was waiting for the verdict memo from the judicial affairs circuit of the Cairo Appeals Court that issued the verdict. The presidency in turn released a statement saying it would also wait for the verdict memo. The official spokesperson of the Prosecutor General denied previous statements attributed to Abdallah's office by the media, saying that the prosecution does not comment on judicial verdicts and that only the State Litigation Authority has the right to appeal. The Cairo Appeals Court ruled on Wednesday to reverse President Mohamed Morsi's November decision to retire Mahmoud and appoint Abdallah. Morsi's constitutional declaration, also issued in November, meant that the decision could not be challenged in court, but Mahmoud appealed the decision anyway. The new constitution limits prosecutor generals to one four-year term, more than the time Mahmoud spent in the position. The constitution also specifies that the Prosecutor General is to be nominated by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and confirmed by the president, but Morsi appointed Abdallah in November unilaterally. Opposition groups have called on Abdallah, whom they view as biased towards the Muslim Brotherhood, and Mahmoud, who is viewed as a Mubarak loyalist, to step down and for the Supreme Council of the Judiciary to nominate a new, impartial Prosecutor General.
