LEGISLATION WATCH- House Legislative Committee nixes mediation clauses from Economic Courts Act: The House of Representatives’ Constitutional and Legislative Committee removed clauses related to the mediation of disputes from the Economic Courts Act, Rep. Khaled Hanafy tells Al Mal. Members of the committee, who should begin reviewing the act once they’ve completed discussions over the FY2018-19 budget, agreed that mediating and settling disputes should not be within economic courts’ jurisdiction and require separate legislation. The act would allow economic courts to handle consumer protection-related cases and look to expedite the dispute resolution process. It would also grant economic courts jurisdiction over criminal violations of the Capital Markets Act. The Council of State had raised objections to what it saw as a lack of input from ministries and government agencies impacted by the law, including the CBE, Financial Regulatory Authority, and Finance Ministry.