Egypt's Morsi compromises amid soaring tensions over decree

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After encountering a wave of protests in response to a decree from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that would have raised his edicts above judicial review, Morsi moved quickly to contain the damage. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports. By Jim Maceda, NBC NewsCAIRO — Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and top Egyptian judges on Monday moved to defuse a crisis in the country, with both side backing down from a battle over Morsi’s sweeping self-appointed powers.

Coming out of emergency meetings in Cairo, Morsi issued a statement in which he agreed that only his decisions related to "sovereign" matters would be protected from judicial review, his spokesman said, indicating he had accepted a compromise proposed by the judiciary members.

On Thursday Morsi alarmed Egyptians and international observers when he decreed sweeping powers for himself that effectively would automatically make all of his rulings lawful and immune to judicial review.


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