Egypt - National Report - World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

Mohamed Abdel Raouf: Partner, Abdel Raouf Law Firm; Secretary-General, the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration; and Lecturer on international commercial arbitration at the Institute of International Business Law (IDAI), Cairo University- Paris I Sorbonne. mohamed@abdelraouf.com

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Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

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I. INTRODUCTION: ARBITRATION IN EGYPT HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A. History and Current Legislation on Arbitration

1. Historical evolution of law relating to arbitration

Before the promulgation of its new laws, the system of arbitration in Egypt followed the provisions of Islamic Shari’a according to the Hanafi doctrine, which sanctioned arbitration. Disputes at the time were usually resolved by conciliation as favored by Muslim scholars. The Egyptian legislator began laying down an integrated arbitration system when it was decided to modernize Egyptian laws. Thus, the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, issued by a Supreme Porte edict dated 13 November 1883, included, in Chapter 6 of Part X, provisions governing arbitration under the title “On the Arbitration of Arbitrators” in Articles 702 to 727. In these articles, the legislator established a developed and comprehensive system for arbitration, which provided that arbitration is contractual and that the arbitration clause must be evidenced in writing, specified the method of appointing arbitrators and set forth the modalities of challenging arbitral awards.

This system remained in force until the said Code was repealed and replaced by the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure No. 77 of 1949, which addressed the issue of arbitration in Part 3 of Book III in Articles 818 to 850. Despite the availability of an advanced legal system for arbitration as a convenient dispute resolution method since 1883, the importance of arbitration at the practical level remained negligible. Litigation remained the rule and arbitration the exception.

With the promulgation of the nationalization laws of 1961 and the establishment of a public sector that encompassed all public economic activities, the need for arbitration as a legal system based on the freedom of the contracting parties disappeared, and a new and entirely different need arose, namely, the need to resolve disputes between units of the public sector through arbitration. The underlying philosophy here was that since all these units were part of the public sector and, at the end of the day, subdivisions of one patrimony, it made more sense to resolve the disputes that arose between them through compulsory arbitration.

Table of Contents:

I. INTRODUCTION: ARBITRATION IN EGYPT HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE A. History and Current Legislation on Arbitration 1. Historical evolution of law relating to arbitration 2. Current law 3. Law reform projects a) The application of the Law to disputes arising out of administrative contracts b) Procedures for challenging arbitrators c) The Appeal of the order granting the enforcement of the award d) The Ministerial Decree regarding the deposit of arbitral awards 4. Confidentiality and publication of awards B. Arbitration Infrastructure and Practice in Egypt 1. Major arbitration institutions, number of cases and other statistics 2. Development of arbitration compared with litigation a) The Law is deemed to be both modern and liberal. This is the result of the following salient features of the Law b) Egypt has ratified major international conventions pertaining to international commercial arbitration including, but not limited to, the New York Convention c) The Egyptian judiciary is cooperative and proved to be “arbitration-friendly” through the assistance of the parties to arbitration and the supervision of the arbitration proceedings II. CURRENT LAW AND PRACTICE A. Arbitration Agreement 1. Types and validity of agreement 2. Enforcing arbitration agreements 3. Effects on third parties 4. Termination and breach B. Doctrine of Separability C. Jurisdiction D. Arbitrability E. Arbitral Tribunal 1. Status and qualifications of arbitrators 2. Appointment of arbitrators a) Payment agreements b) Resignation and its consequences 3. Challenge and removal a) Grounds for challenge b) Procedure for challenge c) Removal and replacement of arbitrators 4. Arbitrator liability and immunity F. Conducting the Arbitration 1. Law governing procedure a) Determination of law and rules governing procedure b) Methods for selection of seat absent party choice c) Mandatory rules of procedure 2. Conduct of arbitration a) Basic procedural principles b) Submissions and notifications c) Legal representation d) Default proceedings 3. Taking of evidence 4. Interim measures of protection 5. Interaction between national courts and arbitration tribunals 6. Multiparty, multi-action and multi-contract arbitration 7. Law and rules of law applicable to the merits 8. Costs G. Arbitration Award 1. Types of awards 2. Form requirements a) Time limits for making award b) Notification to parties and registration 3. Remedies 4. Decision making 5. Settlement 6. Effects of award 7. Correction, supplementation, and amendment H. Challenge and Other Actions against the Award 1. Setting aside a) Grounds b) Limiting judicial review of awards by contract c) Effects of successful challenge 2. Appeal on the merits III. RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS A. Domestic Awards B. Foreign Awards IV. APPENDICES AND RELEVANT INSTRUMENTS A. National Legislation B. Major Arbitration Institutions C. Cases D. Cited Articles / Commentaries E. Bibliography