The Draft Arbitration Law in Egypt

Abstract

The effeciiveness of clauses providing for arbitration before an international arbitral institution has been the cause of some concern to those entering into contracts with public or private sector entities in Egypt. Such arbitration clauses had been considered by most authorities to be effective in ousting the jurisdiction of the Egyptian Courts (at least until such Courts were applied to for an enforcement order). This position was to a large extent founded on the fact that the Egyptian Code on Civil and Commercial Procedure permits parties to a dispute to submit to arbitration as an alternative to the jurisdiction of the Courts and the fact that Egypt is a signatory state of the New York Conlrention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958.1 During recent years, however, there have been a number of attempts to challenge international arbitration proceedings and to question the validity of the arbitration clauses themselves. Some of these challenges have relied upon a provision in the Egyptian Code on Civil and Commercial Procedure requiring the arbitration clause or agreement to actually appoint the arbitrators. Arguments have been advanced in order to make this requirement a matter of public policy applicable to international arbitration. Hence notwithstanding the agreement of the parties to submit to a chosen form of arbitration parties have attempted to frustrate this agreement by arguing that certain provisions contained in the domestic law on arbitration are overriding matters of public policy.2 The Egyptian Code on Civil and Commercial Procedure was enacted in 1968 and was prepared exclusisrely with domestic arbitration in mind. Because of the special considerations relevant to the increasing use of international arbitration a number of countries, primarily in Europe, have enacted legislation to govern specifically this