A top Egyptian court postponed on Sunday a session at which it was to examine the legality of a panel that drew up a controversial constitution, as hundreds of Islamists protested outside.

A judicial official told AFP that the Supreme Constitutional Court had not even begun sitting when it called an "administrative delay" to the session that would have also looked into the status of the Islamist-dominated senate.

Both the official and state television did not mention when the court would hold any new session. A lawyer told reporters it had been delayed because the judges felt they could not enter the courtroom because of the protesters.