The Administrative Court has cancelled Hosni Mubarak’s 2005 decision which gave governors the right to issue permits to allow building or demolishing churches.

State run EGYNews reported that lawyer Mamdouh Nakhla filed the lawsuit to cancel the ousted president’s decision. The lawsuit argued that Mubarak’s decision was contrary to the constitution and the law. Nakhla added that allowing the governors to issue permits limits the freedom of some citizens in renovating their places of worship.

In addition to building or demolishing churches, Mubarak’s decision also included alterations and expansions to existing church buildings.

The president’s decision also stated that repairs and renovations to churches would be done after notifying the relevant authorities in each governorate.

Riots broke out in Giza in 2011 after the government decided to halt the construction of a church being built in Omraneya, Giza. The governor, Sayed Abdel-Aziz, said Christians appeared to have misused a permit for a social centre to build a church, Reuters reported.

The protesters denied this and stated that they had the necessary permit to construct a church.