Members from the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafi-oriented Nour Party have slammed a ruling by the State Council's Administrative Court on Tuesday, which reversed an earlier Parliament decision to form the panel tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution.
The ruling came following a lawsuit decrying domination by Islamists over the formation of the Constituent Assembly, which was announced in March.
Several secular figures and liberal parties, as well as representatives from Al-Azhar and Coptic Church, had withdrawn from the 100-strong panel in objection to its unbalanced membership.
Ahmed Abu Baraka, the FJP's legal adviser, said the ruling is groundless and represents a flagrant mistake in the application of the law. He said the court has been affected by the campaign staged by media outlets against the assembly. Abu Baraka argued that the Administrative Court had no jurisdiction over the constituent assembly, which he described as a purely parliamentary affair.
Ahmed Abdel Rahman, an FJP representative in the Constituent Assembly, said the party will appeal the ruling within hours at the Supreme Administrative Court, and added that the assembly will resume its meetings as planned if the appeal is accepted.
"The verdict means that our fears of the return of Mubarak's regime are coming true," said Bassem al-Zarqa, a Nour Party senior member. "Islamists and people from other social sectors will not allow that to happen. We will have a strong reaction no matter what it costs."
Zarqa voiced fears of a plot to delay the constitution until a new president with unlimited powers is elected and dissolves Parliament. He also added that the ruling highlights interventions by judicial bodies in the works of the legislative branch.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Nour, a Nour Party spokesperson, called upon all political groups to press for the independence of the judiciary, vowing to counter the court verdict through legal channels in reliance on the Constitutional Declaration, which grants Parliament the right to elect the constitutional panel.
