TWO days after the country's highest court had delivered its say on the legality of both the Shura Council and the assembly that wrote the new constitution, the matter continues to draw wide political and media reactions. Immediate reactions to the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ruling on Sunday morning tended to focus mainly on the section of the text that declares the Shura Council, Egypt's equivalent of an upper house of parliament, unconstitionally instituted. Only later readings started to reflect a fuller overview of the ruling that implied as well that Shura should remain in place until a legislative parliament chamber is instituted. But views appear to have reflected some variations on the extent of Shura's legislative powers until a law-making parliament is elected. Lawyer Essam al-Islambouli told a Mehwar Television talk show late on Sunday evening that Shura should between now and the election of the House of Deputies, the legislative chamber as so named in the new constitution, limit its law-making powers to the few bills deemed necessary for the transitional stage. Opposing Islambouli's reading, constitutional law professor Dr. Mahmoud Fikri argued that the SCC ruling does in no way oblige Shura to refrain from enacting legislations (http://v.gd/cuwamo). The notion that Shura should confine its transitional legislative powers to matters of pressing need was also maintained by law professor and lawyer Shawqy el-Sayyed. Only two bills can be processed by Shura, el-Sayyed said, mentioning the draft bills on the House of Deputies and the exercise of political rights. For him, the endorsement of only these bills constitutes the raison d'etre of Shura until a house of deputies is formed (http://v.gd/cuwamo). He indicated that the SCC rulings would effectively ban the Shura Council from looking into draft laws that are meant to regulate the separation between the estates, including the now controversial draft on the regulation of the judiciary estate. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Hatem Bagato, meanwhile, said that no one can deny the efficacy of the Shura Council, noting that the provision of the SCC's verdict regarding the Shura Council election law does not reduce the value of the council. The minister's remarks came during a meeting of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee yesterday to discuss the SCC ruling. "The SCC verdict on the unconstitutionality of the laws on the Shura Council elections and the establishment of the Constituent Assembly (CA) are enforceable for the Shura Council," the minister underlined. ''We are using a new constitution and the problem is that we still look to the old constitution, but we all will respect the provisions of the SCC and the judiciary," the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted him as saying. Bagato added that the implementation of the court's ruling is very easy, and I am responsible for this file. In remarks to Hayyat Television on Sunday evening, Minister Bagato, himself a former SCC judge, explained that the work and output of the Constituent Assembly were monitored by the people by means of casting ballots in a nationwide plebiscite.
