CAIRO - Egypt's ruling military council won a preliminary round on Thursday in its battle with recently elected President Mohammed Morsi when an administrative court ruled it did not have jurisdiction to review the council's amendment of the country's constitution to strip the presidency of some critical powers.
The case is now likely to be referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court, the country's top judicial body, all of whose members were appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak and which issued a series of rulings ahead of last month's presidential runoff that undercut the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi was a Brotherhood member before he resigned from the group after being elected to the presidency.
The administrative court also postponed a ruling on the legality of the constitutional assembly that is drafting a permanent constitution. The postponement came after Brotherhood lawyers asked that the court's judges be removed.
The two actions add to the sense of uncertainty that has dominated Egyptian politics since Morsi won the presidency. Morsi took office June 30, but it's unclear what powers he has. He has yet to appoint a government, and the parliament, which the Brotherhood dominated, was dissolved after the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that one-third of its members had won their seats illegally.
Morsi and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been Egypt's top executive authority since Mubarak's resignation last year, have been sparring over Morsi's authority since his election.
In its decree curtailing presidential powers, the council gave itself final say over all military matters and the authority to appoint a new constituent assembly if the current body fails to complete its task.
