TRIBUNAL OF BENI-SOUEF (Judgment on appeal.) 16 SEPTEMBER 1909. MM. Mustapha El Nahhas Effendi (Pres.); Abd-el-Rahman Ibrahim Effendi, Hasan Rifaat Effendi (JJ.); Mahmoud Salah El Din Effendi (State Rep.). STATE REPRESENTATIVE v. SOLEIMAN RASHWAN AND ANOTHER Conviction by default for misdemeanour—Offence considered crime on opposition—Appeal by Parquet—Waiver. The Parquet presented the case to the Summary Tribunal as a misdemeanour, and obtained a conviction by default. On opposition the Summary Tribunal declared itself incompetent on the ground that the offence constituted a crime. The Parquet then entered an appeal from the judgment given on opposition, but before the appeal was heard it presented the case to the Committing Magistrate who refused to commit the accused for trial before the Assize Court and sent the case back to the Parquet. Thereupon the Parquet at the hearing of the appeal asked that the judgment against which it had appealed should be confirmed, and that the case should be considered one of crime. Held by the Court on appeal :— (1) That the appeal was admissible, for even if a waiver of the appeal could be implied from the fact that the case had been presented to the Committing Magistrate after the appeal was entered, the Parquet is equally incompetent to waive an appeal which has been entered as it is incompetent to waive a public action which has been commenced ; (2) That although the offence constituted a crime, the judgment appealed against must be reversed and the case sent back to the Summary Tribunal, on the ground that the declaration of its incompetence by that Tribunal was equivalent to an increase of the penalty imposed in default, and a penalty cannot be increased on opposition.