Back to the complete issue
Monday, 3 April 2017

Cairo Court overturns ruling that Tiran and Sanafir islands are Egyptian

Court ruling on the handover of Tiran and Sanafir islands to KSA just muddies the waters. The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters handed down a ruling yesterday that challenged the grounds of a previous order from the Supreme Administrative Court to block the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, Al Ahram reports. But there’s a catch: The Court of Urgent Matters lacks the jurisdiction to overturn a Supreme Administrative Court ruling given that the latter is a higher court, legal experts tell Al Mal. Khaled Ali, the activist lawyer whose lawsuit against the transfer of the islands to Saudi led to the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling, also argued that the Urgent Matters Court’s ruling is unconstitutional, according to Al Shorouk. The government has sent the Tiran and Sanafir file to the House of Representatives for discussion, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said yesterday, according to a Cabinet statement. Ismail said the House will have the final say on the agreement, Al Shorouk reports. Reuters is noting that the latest twist in the issue of the two islands comes just as relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been improving of late.

A few hours after yesterday’s ruling was handed down, a number of judges denounced in a press conference amendments passed Parliament to the judicial codes which would give the president the power to appoint the head of the Court of Cassation and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, a power that currently rests with the judiciary. Judges reportedly believe the law and the timing of its passing was tailored to impact the ruling of the Tiran and Sanafir case, according to the Associated Press.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.