The Cabinet has approved the draft law governing the press and media affairs, said Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby Monday.
The draft was passed during the Cabinet's Monday session and will now be submitted to parliament for consideration, he added.
A committee comprising representatives of the ministries of planning and justice was formed to revise the bill, said Araby.
In late April, Minister of Legal Affairs and the House of Representatives Magdi Agaty said the draft bill includes several sections regulating the media, in line with the Constitution.
He added that the bill emphasizes freedom of expression for journalists and media personnel, with a section devoted to the issue.
The bill consists of more than 200 articles on the standards governing media affairs and the formation of the Supreme Council of Press and the National Authority for Media, which would include each between 13 to 15 members.
The members would be chosen by different parties including the presidency, the parliament, media professors, the Journalists Syndicate and the State Council in accordance to a set of criteria in the bill, according to Agaty.
Egypt's Constitution stipulates the establishment of three authorities regulating the affairs of press: the Supreme Council of Press, the National Press Authority and the National Authority for Media.
Agaty said that the Cabinet will recommend that parliament amend articles in the Pendal Code that punish journalists for material the publish.
