Deputy Head of the State Council, Yehya al-Dakroury, filed a case with the Supreme Administrative Court on Thursday against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his appointment of judge Ahmed Abuol Azm as the head of State Council, stressing his own right to be appointed to the post.
Dakroury sent a grievance to Sisi last month on the same grounds, but received no response and proceeded to file the case against the president, senior judicial source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
The case requests that the presidential decree be overturned, and compensation is handed to Dakroury for moral damage suffered as the most senior member of the State Council, who earned the confidence and consensus of the General Assembly of the State council.
Dakroury was nominated as the sole candidate for the position by the General Assembly of the State Council in May.
In his grievance last month, Dakroury said that overriding the principle of seniority for the State Council appointee head is an unprecedented move, and that a decision such as this neglects one of the pillars of the judiciary system and affects the proper functioning of justice.
The assembly sent its recommendation to the president but it was ignored and Aboul Azm was appointed instead.
The move was in accordance with the new judicial authority law, which gives the president the right to select heads of judicial authorities.
The new law has been speculated to be a control mechanism to choose the State Council head.
Dakroury issued the infamous ruling in June 2016 that nullified the Red Sea islands demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Samir al-Bahy, chairman of the State Council Judges Club, has said that the Red Sea islands case is the reason behind amending the Judicial Authority Law, to give more power to the president to choose the head of the State Council.
Edited Translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
