The Administrative Court's decision on Sunday to suspend the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) decision, that would have limited the tenure of bank heads to nine years, is a step towards revoking it, said Atef El-Sherif, founder of El-Sherif Law Firm and Consultants. The law firm filed a lawsuit against the CBE's decision. El-Sherif told Daily News Egypt that the suspension was referred to the commissioners of the State Council for review, after the Administrative Court ruled that the case should be considered urgent. He noted that the final verdict could take over two years, during which the law will remain suspended. CBE Governor Tarek Amer told Daily News Egypt that he respects the judiciary system and its verdict to suspend the CBE's decision. Sources close to the case said the CBE aims to go through parliament to amend the Banking Law to give more jurisdiction to the CBE governor, which includes having the authority to be able put a limit on the tenure of bank heads. "The ruling is enforceable," El-Sherif said, adding that imposing the CBE's decisions would destroy banking transactions. El-Sherif pointed out that the CBE does not have any legal arguments to support its position. Rokaya Reyad, the legal advisor of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, said the verdict is considered temporary, and the decision to abolish it awaits a report from the State Council commissioners. Reyad told Daily News Egypt that it is unlikely the State Council will criticise the verdict as it is not a final one, adding that it is likely to await the commissioners' report and refer it to the court. Unlike El-Sherif's statements that the final verdict will take more than two years—which is why the Administrative Court resorted to suspending it—, Reyad expects the commissioners' report to be concluded quickly followed by a verdict due to the criticality of the case for the banking sector.
