President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi appointed Wednesday a new head to the State Council. Judge Ahmed Aboul Azm was designated as the new president of the council, state media reported. This comes as the appointment witnessed a major procedural change under the recently passed Judicial Authority Law, approved by the state's legislative and executive authorities, but rejected by judges. Before the law was implemented, Judge Yehia Dakroury would have headed the council by default due to seniority. Under the new law, the president of the country is to designate one of three names among the oldest members presented to him by the judges after a general assembly. But in May, the State Council's general assembly decided to appoint Dakroury as head of the council for this legal year, in defiance to the law. As a result, the president had to choose among the seven oldest members. Dakroury was the face of the historic ruling annulling the Egyptian-Saudi maritime border demarcation agreement.
