Cairo, Jan. 16 (Aswat Masriya) - Parliamentary sessions are to remain off-air for 15 days until representatives review the laws and presidential decrees made in the parliament’s absence. After this, live broadcast will resume normally, parliamentary president Ali Abdel Aal said.

Egypt has been without a legislature since the Islamist dominated parliament was dissolved in 2012. Since then, the president held complete legislative powers.

The new parliament is expected to discuss and approve all legislation passed by the president within 15 days of its commencement, according to article 156 of the 2014 Egyptian Constitution.

On Sunday, the new House of Representatives is set to begin reviewing the presidential decrees and laws issued in its absence.

Last Monday Abdel Aal decided to stop the live broadcasting of the parliamentary sessions after the majority of representatives approved his decision.

The general secretariat of the House assured that the decision not to broadcast is “lawful”, backed by Article 120 of the constitution. He added that journalists may still be present and can follow-up on what takes place during sessions.

According to a statement released by the parliament’s media office, Abdel Aal met with various parliamentary committees to discuss the upcoming agendas for the parliament. He is also due to meet with independent and female representatives, the statement said.  

In a Tuesday statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the House of Representatives to "amend or revoke" what it described as "abusive laws" issued by either President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi or his predecessor Adly Mansour.

HRW expressed its concern about the protest law, military courts law, counter-terrorism law and pre-trial detention law.

A version of this article was originally published in Aswat Masriya.