Almost a year ago, the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) dissolved Egypt’s first democratically elected parliament in decades. The court issued its controversial decision after rushed hearings two days before the presidential election runoffs between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, the eventual winner, and Ahmed Shafik, prime minister of deposed president Hosni Mubarak. The court is now set to determine the constitutionality of the Shura Council, the upper house of the legislature, on June 2. The 270-member council of 90 presidential appointees and 180 elected members is historically a powerless body with only a consultative mandate. Today, however, it is operating as Egypt’s only legislative body.
The case challenging the legality of the Shura Council was filed on June 25, 2012, following the June 14 dissolution of the People's Assembly, the lower house of parliament. The SCC ruled against the parliament after deciding that the election law violated the principle of equality by discriminating against independent candidates. The court found that the law allowed parties to compete for one-third of the seats reserved for independents.