Originially from: World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR)

An Outline of the Principles of the
New Egyptian Law on Arbitration
By Dr. M.I.M. Aboul Enein, Director, Cairo Regional Center for International
Commercial Arbitration.
During the last three decades, Egypt has taken some very important steps towards
the modernization of its laws in the field of international commercial arbitration. In
1959, Egypt ratified the New York Convention and has since applied the unified
rules embedded in the Convention. However, the scene was dominated by extensive
legislative and judicial national elements calling for a rather conservative attitude
towards international arbitration. Consequently, the need for reform and for the
adoption of more liberal and advanced rules on this subject was expressed by a vast
majority of Egyptian scholars, practitioners, and economists.
The establishment of the Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial
Arbitration (CRCICA) was a step in the right direction, and one which has had a
tremendous impact on the effort among those concerned with international commerce
to introduce categorical reforms to the Egyptian legal system.
The third and most important development occurred in September 1985 when
CRCICA proposed to the Egyptian Minister of Justice the enactment of a new law on
arbitration to be based on the UNCITRAL Model Law (the Model Law). This
suggestion was favorably considered, a drafting committee was formed in the
CRCICA, and last month the law finally became a reality, after a long struggle and
lengthy debates.
The Law on Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Matters (Law No. 27/1994) (the
New Law) was promulgated on April 18, 1994, published in the Official Gazette on
April 21, and will come into force on May 22. From that date onwards, the New Law
applies to all undecided domestic and international arbitrations falling within its
scope, superseding and abolishing articles 501 to 518 of the Code of Civil and
Commercial Procedures (CCCP) on arbitration.
The Main Features of the New Law
The New Law extends its scope of application to include arbitrations between
public and private parties in civil and commercial matters, whatever the nature of the
disputed legal relationship might be. The New Law thus ends what once seemed to