President Mohamed Morsi has defied Egypt's top court and its powerful military council by ordering the country's dissolved parliament back to work.

Morsi issued a decree on Sunday withdrawing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decision last month to dissolve parliament, which came after the Supreme Constitutional Court found that the legislature had been elected using an unconstitutional method.

The decree states that Morsi decided to restore the elected People's Assembly, which was voted into office over three months beginning in November, and reconvene it in session to begin issuing legislation again.

The Muslim Brotherhood's political party won nearly half of the assembly and Morsi, though he stepped down from a leadership position in the Brotherhood, is still a member.

The decree appears to be an attempt by Morsi to bring parliament back without directly contradicting the supreme court. Rather than address the court's decision, which stated that parliament should be dissolved, Morsi cancelled the subesquent move by the SCAF - at the time the acting executive power - to implement the court's decision.