The law v the state

IT IS is hard to imagine what could be more embarrassing to a government than to hear its judiciary declare its legislature illegal. Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has in effect done just that, by ruling, earlier this month, that judges must fully oversee elections. The clear implication is that Egypt's current parliament is illegitimate. The government, already battered by a sudden, and serious, economic slump, has had to scramble to fix new rules before the parliamentary election due in November.