An Egyptian court overturned former President Hosni Mubarak

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (Creative Commons)

The interior minister, Habib Al Adly, who is serving life in prison, will also be retried.

ABC reported that some of the impacts of the retrial could include:

— A retrial can produce a not-guilty verdict, uphold Mubarak's life sentence or reduce it. It cannot stiffen his sentence, however, because defendants cannot draw a heavier sentence when they appeal a conviction. Still, new evidence could lead to the deposed leader being convicted of ordering the crackdown on the protesters, not just failing to prevent it, a scenario that would go a long way toward appeasing victims' families...

— Mubarak, his two sons and a family associate, Hussein Salem, will also face retrial on corruption charges they were earlier acquitted of. The sons— onetime heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa — are in jail while on trial for insider trading and using their influence to buy state land at a fraction of its market price.

— For Mubarak's successor, Islamist Mohammed Morsi, a retrial is likely to be an unwanted distraction as he tries to restore law and order, and grapple with a wrecked economy, as well as the aftermath of last month's deadly debacle over a new constitution drafted by his Islamist allies and hurriedly adopted in an all-night session in late November.

— A retrial could also deny much-needed closure as the still-volatile country prepares for parliamentary elections in about three months which Morsi and his Islamist allies are determined to win. It could also revive calls for a deeper purge of those viewed as holdovers from the old era.