[softy54534]

Egypt's top court has ruled that the Islamist-dominated Senate and the panel which drew up the country's constitution are invalid.

The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on Sunday delivered its judgment on the legitimacy of the Shura Council, historically a powerless upper house which was given legislative powers last year after parliament was dissolved.

However, judicial sources told Reuters that the Shura Council would not be dissolved until a new parliament was in place.

A date has yet to be set for the elections. President Mohamed Morsi had said they could begin in October.

The court also ruled against the Islamist-dominated panel that drafted the constitution adopted by a popular referendum in December.

The case against the Shura Council is based on several challenges by lawyers of the law that governed the election of its members.

Both the upper and lower houses were elected under the same electoral law, which the SCC last year deemed invalid, prompting the dissolution of parliament.

[Beerinkol]

so.. what happens now?

[Ifroham4]

Egyptians celebrate the fact their judges care more for the nation and its people than the politicians in power.

[S.T.D.]

Briefly, because within a few hours those judges will either disappear, or at the very least stripped of their power.

[Ifroham4]

And with some luck, we'll see an Egyptian revolution take 2.

Meanwhile, about half of westerners are surprised that everything didn't immediately work out great while the other half just sigh and say "I told you so".

[NeroASERCH]

How can the top court make a decision based on something outside of the constitution?
I mean I agree that in cases like this it should be possible... but how is this even possible?

[9mm_fan]

This is a shot in the dark, but I'm going to guess that the draft of the constitution was built on the framework of previous laws that the Senate had agreed to observe; laws that the court ruled were violated.

[brraverishhh]

The new constitution had a lot of gray areas that were against humans rights. For what I know, that isn't much, if a local law goes against humans rights, the Supreme court of that country can deem it illegal. This might be the case, but I don't know the article doesn't comment why the Supreme Constitutional Court had this judgment. I suppose later today or early tomorrow we'll have more details.

[Fegasderty]

It's reasonable to expect that the situation in Turkey will fuel new protests in Egypt. Middle Eastern secularists need to step their game up, they were defeated too easily by Islam during the Egyptian revolution.

[softy54534]

You're not doing anybody favors by making this a secularist vs Islam issue. Many of the secularists are Muslim because wanting a competent government of non-corrupt technocrats is not a religious issue, nor should it ever be.

[tgs]

At issue in turkey is secular government vs religious government

[softy54534]

But people can be religious personally and still desire a secular government.

[tgs]

Yeah, the proper term here would have been 'were defeated too easily by Islamist groups during the Egyptian revolution.'

Islam = Religion

Islamism = Specific political ideology which seeks to make Islam not only the state religion, but state law.

However, this glazes over the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood were the most organized and powerful opposition group to the Murabak dictatorship before the revolution, to which there is no secular analogue.