CAIRO: Judges from one of the Egyptian judiciary's three main branches have voted to defy a newly adopted and widely disputed law giving the president a degree of control over the judiciary.
State Council judges, who rule on disputes with the government, voted overwhelmingly Saturday to put forward their most senior judge as their nominee to head their branch, defying the new law.
The law stipulates that each judiciary branch nominates three of its seven most senior judges to the president to choose one to head each of the three branches.
The judiciary has two other branches: the court of cassation and government lawyers, which already have complied.
The State Council judges' single nominee, Yahya Dakroury, ruled last year against relinquishing to Saudi Arabia control of three strategic Red Sea islands.