Constitutional Court dismisses appeal against Health Ministry’s waste treatment decision

The Constitutional Court has rejected the appeal filed by the President of the Federation of Private Medical Professionals challenging Ministerial Decision No. 196 of 2022, which requires private healthcare facilities to bear the cost of treating medical waste.

The court headed by Counselor Adel El-Bahou, ruled that the decision issued by the Minister of Health does not constitute a “fee” in the legal sense, as it is not a fixed amount uniformly applied to all health facilities, reports Al-Rai newspaper.

Instead, the cost is calculated based on economic factors, including the type and quantity of waste produced. The amount reflects the actual cost of the service provided by the company contracted by the Ministry of Health to operate the waste treatment plant.

Since these costs are tied to services requested by the medical facilities and not imposed uniformly as a statutory fee, the court ruled that the decision does not violate Article 134 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the lawsuit was dismissed for lack of legal grounds.