The new Presidential decree issued on 8 December removed some parts of the old (22 November) decree that angered the opposition, including an article that had given President Morsi broad powers to confront threats to the revolution or the nation.
Another article in the old decree had put beyond legal challenge any decision taken by the President until a new parliament was elected, reflecting President Morsi’s distrust of a judiciary largely unreformed from Mubarak’s era. That article was not repeated, but the new decree said, “Constitutional declarations including this declaration” were beyond judicial review.
The new decree outlined steps for setting up an assembly to draft a new constitution should the current draft be rejected.
Further, the opposition was invited to offer suggested changes to the new constitution, echoing an earlier initiative by President Morsi’s team for amendments to be discussed and agreed on by political factions and put to the new parliament to approve. However, the prosecutor general, who was dismissed, will not be reinstated, and the retrial of the former regime officials’ role in killings of citizens during the revolution will go ahead.