The aim of President Mohamed Mursi's constitutional declaration is to ensure the independence of the judiciary and distance it from politics, vice president Mahmoud Mekki said on Sunday.

According to Mursi, the decree wil expire in 13 days, Mekki stated.

The draft constitution, if approved, stipulates that all constitutional declarations decreed by the military council or the former president are ineffective.

In a pre-recorded statement, Mekki said that as a judge the constitutional decree worried him yet he knows that its goal is to protect the independence of the judiciary.

The statement, published on the official Facebook page of the presidency's spokesman, will be broadcast by the Egyptian state TV on Sunday night.