Court blocks Morsy bid to restore house

CAIRO, Monday

Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court said on Monday that all of its rulings were “binding,” in response to a presidential decree reinstating parliament after the court ruled the house invalid.

“All the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal... and are binding for all state institutions,” the court said in a statement.

Several people have gone to court to challenge President Mohamed Morsy’s decision ordering the return of parliament, and the Supreme Constitutional Court said it would look into these cases.

The court also stressed that it was “not a part of any political conflict... but the limit of its sacred duty is the protection of the texts of the constitution.”

The Supreme Constitutional Court had said certain articles in the law governing parliamentary elections were invalid, annulling the Islamist-led house.

On Sunday, Morsy in turn annulled the court’s decision, putting himself on a collision course with the judiciary and the military that enforced the ruling when it was in power.

Egypt’s parliament speaker early on Monday invited the lower house to convene today following a decision by the president to reinstate the assembly, in a challenge to the military that disbanded the legislature.

Saad al-Katatni “has called on parliament to convene at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Tuesday,” the official MENA news agency reported.

The call by Katatni, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, comes after Morsy ordered the return of the Islamist-led parliament which was dissolved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces-based court.

The move, described by some as a “political earthquake,” has also put Morsy on a collision course with some secular parties.