Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Magdy el Agati said Monday the government plans to hold a conference aiming at developing a new criminal procedure code.

Addressing a general session of the House of Representatives, the minister added that invitations for the conference will be extended to two weeks and House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal will be invited.

We have no problem as regards the Penal Code that includes penalties for each crime. However, the problem -in fact- stems from the current Code of Criminal Procedure that prolongs litigation procedures, Agati said.

The most important amendment compels the Court of Cassation, if it decided to overturn a ruling, to consider the merits of the case, he added.

The government has been a pioneer submitting amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law, but the Supreme Judicial Council requested to postpone its consideration, the minister said.

He called on the House of Representatives to quickly approve these amendments.

Source: MENA