Egyptian Court Research Articles

Egypt: Recent Developments in Arbitration

Abstract This Article tackles two main streamlines. Firstly, the legislative updates pertaining to international arbitration within the jurisdiction. These consist in the following: (i) the establishment of a committee to work on a proposal for the amendment of the Egyptian Arbitration Law, within a limited scope of amendments; and (ii) the amendments to Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1062 of 2019 expanding the scope of review of the High Committee for Arbitration and International Disputes, by virtue of Prime Ministerial Decrees No. 2592 of 2020 and No. 3218 of 2022. Secondly, the case law updates where Egyptian courts have addressed various issues proving that the Egyptian judiciary is an arbitration-friendly seat and in alignment with international arbitration trends. Among the cited case law updates, the Egyptian Court of Cassation has expressly cited the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration (2014), for the first time ever, when addressing the duty of disclosure of an arbitrator. The Court of Cassation has also set the conditions that require to be fulfilled if an arbitrator abstains from signing the arbitral award and has set definitions for deliberations and dissenting opinions. The Cairo Court of Appeal has considered the arbitrators’ illness of COVID-19 as a force majeure event that interrupts the arbitration proceedings by the force of law and held that WhatsApp instant messaging constitutes a valid means of communication in arbitral proceedings as long as the fundamental principles of arbitration are observed.

Squeezing Juice from the 'Fruits of the Caliphs:' Tastes, Contexts, and Textual Transplantation at a Late Medieval Egyptian Court

This article concerns themes of translation, movement, and context in its examination of the intentions behind the composition of Ahmad ibn ʿArabshah's (1389–1450) mid-fifteenth-century opus of animal fables and anecdotal advice literature, the Fakihat al-khulafaʾ wa mufakahat al-zurafaʾ (Fruits of the Caliphs and Witty Banter of the Stylish Folk). With some alterations, including the introduction of a substantial amount of historical material in its ultimate and penultimate chapters, Ibn ʿArabshah's Fruits of the Caliphs is primarily an expanded reworking of an earlier work, the thirteenth-century Marzban-nama (Book of Marzban) attributed to Saʿd al-Din al-Warawini. Like the Book of Marzban, the Fruits of the Caliphs is largely a collection of moralistic animal fables and anecdotes of wisdom, bound together within several smaller stories which comprise a larger framework story. The ten chapters of the Fruits of the Caliphs share much in common with the Book of Marzban although Ibn ʿArabshah completed significant re-writing of the original tales with historical asides, changed names, and observations unique to his own mid-fifteenth-century interpretation of the book. Because the work is primarily an Arabic translation of an earlier Persianate mirror, it proves challenging to analyze as an "original" work. Nevertheless, Ibn ʿArabshah attempted to modernize the book and in its Arabic form, update it for what we may assume must be a late medieval Cairene courtly audience. In addition to engaging with the curious title of the work and its latent meanings, this article contextualizes and explains the author's creation of the work in relation to his later career trajectory and rising reputation in the fifteenth-century Syro-Egyptian cultural milieu.

Objective framework for the Provisions of criminal contribution(Comparative study)

It is possible to distinguish between a number of persons where the crime is conducted by their behavior, based on the conduct of one of them, and whether this conduct fulfills the crime as described by law, or at least part of it, or on the contrary, it may appear outside the prescribed description of the crime. In the first case the person participating in the crime is called the perpetrator. This perpetrator is the one who, by his conduct, fully or partially commit the crime as described in the law. In the second, the partner, who contributes to the crime by a conduct not described by law even if it is related to the conduct described in law, because it is an agreement, incitement or assistance to it. The Egyptian law distinguished between the perpetrator and the partner in the crime, as the Penal Code dealt with the issue of criminal participation in detail, by stipulating the forms of criminal participation that are supposed to be available to determine whether or not to participate, and also referred to the elements of the act of criminal participation that lead to accountability of the partner in the crime. In addition to his interest in invoking the intent of the accomplice in the crime, while the Syrian and Lebanese law distinguished between the perpetrator and the accomplice on the one hand, and the intervening person on the other.In this study, we will address the issue of criminal contribution from the point of view of the Egyptian legislator, while comparing it with the Lebanese and Syrian laws to show the extent of compatibility or inconsistency in the stipulated provisions, using legal and jurisprudential references, as well as presenting many judgments and jurisprudence issued by The Egyptian Court of Cassation since its establishment with the aim of serving the study and enriching the facts and information contained therein.

All’s Well That Ends Well? Looking at the Future of the Unified Arab Agreement in Light of the Al-Kharafi v Libya Decisions by the Egyptian Courts

I say to him, ‘It is a bull’ and he responds ‘Milk it’Arabic proverb5 The June 2021 decision by the Egyptian Court of Cassation has finally settled the controversial Al-Kharafi v Libya decision, by reversing the June 2020 decision by the Cairo Court of Appeal.6 In its decision, the Cairo Court of Appeal had annulled the first arbitral award issued under the auspices of the Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States (‘Unified Arab Agreement’),7 on the grounds that the Tribunal had violated the principle of proportionality when it came to awarding compensation and this was a fundamental principle that could not be derogated from.8 A fundamental question before the Egyptian courts was whether the Unified Arab Agreement should be considered as a closed self-contained regime for resolving Arab investment disputes similar to the ICSID regime. This fundamental question invites two additional issues that warrant careful analysis and are the focus of this case comment, namely: (i) the status of the seat under the Unified Arab Agreement; and (ii) the status of annulment of arbitral awards under the Unified Arab Agreement. The ICSID Convention has a specialized regime for both these provisions and the question that this note purports to analyse is whether the Unified Arab Agreement also creates a special regime akin to the ICSID Convention.

Egypt – New Developments in Arbitration Law

Abstract Arbitration in Egypt is undergoing changes to cope with the novel global developments in international arbitration. These changes mainly feature in the reasoning of court decisions deciding on arbitration related matters and more specifically nullity actions filed against arbitral awards, as well as in contemplated legislative and regulatory amendments. This summary update tackles four principal new developments. Firstly, the amendments to the Supreme Constitutional Court’s Law which vests the Supreme Constitutional Court with new powers to review the constitutionality of (1) decisions rendered by international organisations, and (2) foreign court judgments which enforcement is sought against the Egyptian state in Egypt. Secondly, the closure of an ongoing saga in relation to the setting aside of the famous Kharafi vs. Libya arbitral award, whereby the Egyptian Court of Cassation finally upheld the validity of the arbitral award and dismissed the Libyan state’s nullity action. Thirdly, the judgment of the Egyptian Court of Cassation, which, for the first time in its history, annulled an ICC arbitral award based on Article 53(2) of the Egyptian Arbitration Law. Fourthly, the Covid-19 silver lining as reflected in a 2020 Court of Cassation decision, rendered midst the pandemic, whereby the Court established and affirmed many principles including, the principle of estoppel, party representation in arbitration by foreign and non-lawyers, delocalisation (distinguishing between seat and venue) and explicitly referred to the conduct of virtual hearings.

Unveiling al-Isfār ʽan ḥukm al-asfār: Structural Analysis of a Fifteenth-Century Medical Manual for Travellers

ABSTRACT Around the middle of the ninth/fifteenth century, the Egyptian court physician Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad Muẓaffar al-Dīn al-‘Ayntābī, also known as Ibn al-Amshāṭī (812/1409–902/1496), compiled a short health-guide for travellers dedicated to a prominent member of the Mamlūk administration, Muḥammad al-Juhanī al-Bārizī (796/1394–856/1452). As mentioned in its incipit, the scope of the booklet, entitled al-Isfār ʽan ḥukm al-asfār, was to accompany al-Bārizī in the pilgrimage to Mecca and provide him with the medical information necessary to keep healthy and cure sickness during the journey. By analysing the structure and contents of the unedited manuscript of this “provision for travellers”, this article discusses how Ibn al-Amshāṭī, mostly engaged with scholarly works, collected, organized and adapted scientific knowledge in a booklet for a non-professional readership. By looking into this process of knowledge transmission and adaptation, this article seeks to contribute to the re-evaluation of Mamlūk literary heritage.

Is It Possible to Overrule a Constitutional Precedent in the Egyptian Legal System?

Abstract This article examines the constitutionality of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court’s (hereinafter SCC) authority to overrule its prior precedents. The authors argue, contrary to the assertions of the predominant conservative approach in Egypt, that bestowing the SCC with such an overruling power neither violates the Constitution nor undermines fundamental legal principles such as the principles of equality, legal certainty, or the justified expectations of litigants. Indeed, we make the argument that the Court’s ability to overrule its prior precedents seems to be the most conceivable and plausible way to correct the Court’s past mistakes or inaccuracies. We finally claim that endowing the court with such overruling power enhances the constitutional protection of fundamental rights and freedoms and strengthens the Court’s credibility not only via other public authorities, but also via public opinion.

Religious Law in the Service of Human Rights?

Abstract During the 1990s, a period representing the peak of often novel interpretations in human rights litigation by the judges of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt’s human rights performance was better than in other Islamic states sharing a commitment to the supremacy of Shari’a law. This article argues that there is a gap between the dogmatic assertion of the communal good life defined in traditional Islamic terms and the reality of governance usually at odds with these stipulations. The peculiar practice of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court in the 1990s highlighted two crucial, related questions: first, was it in principle possible to narrow that gap and align governmental action to rules derived from scripture? Second, does the highly fragmented and inconsistent character of classical Islamic law offer advantages in its adaptation to modernity? This article claims that the relative progress towards compliance with international human rights standards was due to progressive and strategically litigating judges, who used Islamic law opportunistically rather than dogmatically.

An Award on Winding-Up Leaving Quantum for a Liquidator-Expert Refused Enforcement

Abstract An Egyptian court refused the enforcement of an United Arab Emirates award on winding-up leaving quantum for a liquidator-expert. It explained that the award lacks certainty and failed to determine the sum of the awarded debt; the effects of the award are thus incomplete. The liquidator-expert’s report could not stand a valid instrument for completing such effects. The court has incidentally raised the issue of the arbitrator’s failure to render an award eligible for forced execution.

New Light on the Correspondence of Abimilki, King of Tyre

This article discusses the chronological sequence of the eleven letters of the kings of Tyre (EA 146–155, 295) and the history of Tyre in the Amarna period, as it has emerged from the re-dating of the letters. The article also suggests that Abimilki was a Tyrian prince sent as a hostage to Egypt and, following the crisis of succession, chosen by Amenhotep III to sit on the Tyrian throne. The education and cultural background to which the king was exposed in his youth, in the Egyptian court, explains the unique characteristic of the Tyrian letters within the Amarna correspondence. The article also describes the history of Tyre from the later years of Amenhotep III to the later years of Akhenaten, and the contribution of the Tyrian letters to the history of the Coast of Lebanon in the Amarna period.

An Introduction to the System of Appeals in Iran, Egypt and France

The present study aims at exploring the system of appeals in Iran, Egypt and France in order to gain a better understanding of those systems. Firstly, the French legal system is explored. The organization of the French courts consists of the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and The Cour de Cassation. Under the French legal system, there are a few specific rules concerning appeal from judgment and appeal from other factors. Secondly, the Egyptian legal system as a codified law system was considered. It consists of three courts of First, Instance and Cassation. In fact, the Egyptian court of Appeal reconsiders felony cases. In general, the Egyptian Courts of appeal include eight courts and each court is independent and hears specific kinds of Claims such as economical and criminal matters. Thirdly, Iranian appeal system such as its deadline, effects and types is examined.

»Se voues nous volés oïr et entendre, nous vos mosterrons par droite raison […] que vostre lois est noiens«

The encounter between Francis of Assisi and sultan Malik al-Kamil in 1219 became in its immediate aftermath object of several historiographic, hagiographic and literary accounts. One can see that a common, yet variously developed element of all these reports is the record of the future saint surprising his audience by the frankness of his preaching of the Christian faith. This continuity stretches from the Old French Chronique d’Ernoul, which firstly introduced this aspect, to Dante’s Commedia. Actually, in the light of the eye-witness account of Thomas of Split, an enthusiastic speech of Francis at the Egyptian court could well respond to the facts: following the model of the contemporary political concionatori and their biblical archetype, Salomon, Francis surely preached in a simple but theologically profound way the Truth of Christian relevation, trusting that Divine wisdom in humility is superior to an approach which is grounded exclusively in human knowledge.

Memories into Images: Aegean and Aegean-like Objects in New Kingdom Egyptian Theban Tombs

Diplomatic relations between the 18th-dynasty Egyptian court and the polities of the Aegean Bronze Age are gaining increasing scholarly attention. The work conducted so far on chronological synchronization has established a relatively firm base for further discussions on social relations. The role of the prestige objects arriving from the Aegean to Egypt has not received the same attention. This is partly because our knowledge of these objects is restricted to Egyptian visual representations in tombs of the officials and not the imported objectsper se. This paper will discuss the transformative capacities of Egyptian decorum in regards to the foreign prestige objects of the Aegean provenance arriving in the Egyptian 18th-dynasty court. We first have to understand the iconographical phenomena of transference, hybridization and creativity in Egyptian visual culture, and only then may we attempt to read any historical reality behind them. These transformative representational processes are crucial for the understanding of the reception and the memory of the Aegean objects.

Neglect and Detention of Messengers in Egypt during the Fourteenth and Thirteenth Centuries BCE

The present study explores and analyzes the relationships between countries of the ancient Near East by studying the complaints of neglect and detaining of foreign messengers and emissaries at the Egyptian royal court—and the courts of other the countries—during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE. This analysis also considers the traveling speeds of the messengers, the expected lengths of detention, and the credibility of the complaints of mistreatment and detention. The study reveals that the level of Egyptian maltreatment of the messengers of other countries reflected the significance and status of those countries at the Egyptian court. Moreover, messengers and envoys could be delayed or ill-treated for political and bureaucratic reasons, or issues related to crime and misconduct. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5913/jarce.54.2018.a002

Decision on the Arab Republic of Egypt Appeal Concerning the Sale of Tiran and Sanafir Islands, Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court, Writ Petition: 74236/62

Decision on the Arab Republic of Egypt Appeal Concerning the Sale of Tiran and Sanafir Islands, Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court, Writ Petition: 74236/62

The sounds of silence: The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, constitutional crisis, and constitutional silence

The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) issued a series of decisive decisions during the transition period following Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and the military coup of July 3, 2013. During the transition the SCC treated various “constitutional declarations” of the military as binding commands of a “constitutional lawgiver” which pre-empted the commands of all inferior lawgivers, including the military, when acting as a legislator. This hierarchical conception of law as a series of commands issuing from a hierarchy of superior and inferior lawgivers means that legality is determined solely by reference to a particular law’s place in this hierarchy, without regard to the content of the command. In this conception of law, there is no place for constitutional silence inasmuch as the legislature and courts are seen simply as carrying out instructions of the constitutional lawgiver. The denial of constitutional silence in turns leads to judicial rhetoric that overdetermines the outcome of particular cases, and fails to tie outcomes of cases to any shared conception of legality between the sovereign and the citizens. This approach to deciding cases negates the possibility that “silence” may be filled by other lawgivers through a deliberative political process. By refusing to accept a place for constitutional silence, the SCC’s jurisprudence enshrines a kind of “constitutional despotism” which exacerbates constitutional conflict, rather than mitigating it, by creating incentives for constitutional drafters to write ever more specific constitutional rules to enshrine particular outcomes rather than creating a framework for shared governance.

Ahmed Urabi and his Associates: the Arrangements of the Pre-exile to Ceylon

The British force led by Garnet Wolseley defeated the Egyptian Army under the leadership of Ahmed Urabi at Tel-el-Kebir on 13 September 1882. Urabi surrendered and was imprisoned waiting for his trial. He was tried in November 1882 in front of an Egyptian court ‘but it was a judicial artifice manipulated by London’. He was accused of being guilty of rebellion and refusal to disband his army at the command of the Khedive Tawfik and was sentenced to death; that sentence was commuted by the Khedive to perpetual exile from Egypt. The focus of this work is to expose in detail the measures which were arranged by the Egyptian and the British governments when the trial of Urabi and his associates was finished and before their exile to Ceylon, beginning with the selection of the residence of exile and ending with the procedures of their transfer to Ceylon. The arrangements included what allowance should be given them for their maintenance, whether they should be allowed to select their own residence in the exile or reside in one provided by the local authorities of Ceylon, whether their correspondence would pass through the hands of the governor or not, what amount of surveillance should be exercised over them by the police of Ceylon. This paper seeks to unearth data and stories specific to these arrangements mainly from the primary sources represented in the documents of the British Colonial Office, the correspondence of Lord Dufferin, the letters of the Governor of Ceylon and other related documents which are archived in the National Archives of the United Kingdom in London, in addition to the reports and the news which covered the trial and the exile of Urabi and his companions in different newspapers. It appears that these documents have not been previously consulted to tell the story of Urabi and his associates covering the period between the end of their trial and their arrival to Ceylon on 11 January 1882.

Constitutionalisation of International Human Rights Law in the Jurisprudence of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court

Abstract This article examines the status of international human rights law in the Egyptian legal system and investigates how Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) uses international and foreign law in its constitutional interpretation of fundamental rights and freedoms. I argue that integrating international human rights law into the jurisprudence of the SCC is imperative both for protecting the rights and freedoms of Egyptian people and for resolving potential conflicts between national law and international law. I rely on cases covering rights to marriage, development, education and equality (especially for persons with disabilities).

The Appearance of Foreign Counsel in International Arbitration: The Case of Egypt

The ability of arbitrating parties to select their representatives in international arbitration is an extension of the principle of party autonomy. In Egypt, some uncertainty has existed as to the ability of the parties to appoint non-lawyers and foreign counsel as their representatives in arbitral proceedings. The Egyptian Legal Profession Law restricts the right to appear before arbitral tribunals to members of the Egyptian bar, who must be Egyptian nationals. Recent decisions by the Cairo Court of Appeal and the Egyptian Court of Cassation go some way in amending this position, holding that foreign lawyers can represent parties in arbitrations conducted in Egypt, subject to the parties’ agreement. However, unless the Legal Profession Law and the Arbitration Law are amended, uncertainty will remain.

الاتجاهات الحديثة للتخلي عن الاختصاص القضائي الدولي في ضوء حكم محكمة النقض المصرية الصادر بتاريخ 24/3/2014 (The Modern Trends of Waiver of International Jurisdiction on Light of Decision of Egyptian Court of Cassation In 24/3/2014)

Arabic Abstract: ملخص يتناول هذا البحث تحليلا وتأصيلا لحكم محكمة النقض المصرية الصادر مؤخرا بتاريخ 24/3/2014، والذي تبنى فيه موقفا مؤيدا للتخلي عن الاختصاص القضائي الدولي لصالح محكمة أجنبية، وذلك على خلاف الموقف التقليدي للقضاء المصري المستقر منذ خمسينيات القرن الماضي على رفض جميع صور التخلي عن الاختصاص القضائي الدولي. ويناقش البحث هذا الحكم في إطار فلسفي، فيقسم مراحل تطور القانون الدولي الخاص إلى مرحلتين: أولاهما هي مرحلة التنسيق بين النظم القانونية، والتي نشأت في ستينيات القرن الماضي كرد فعل للتخفيف من حدة التمسك المتشدد بفكرة السيادة الإقليمية في مجال الاختصاص القضائي الدولي، ثم مرحلة النظام القانوني العالمي أو الكوني التي بدأ تدشينها في التسعينيات مع نمو أفكار العولمة والكونية المضادة للسيادات المستقلة للدول، ليكشف البحث في النهاية عن تأثر محكمة النقض المصرية بمرحلة النظام القانوني الكوني في إطار القانون الدولي الخاص المعاصر. English Abstract: This study dealt with an analysis and the finalization of the Egyptian Court of Cassation ruling issued recently on 24/3/2014, in which it adopted a position in favor of giving up international jurisdiction in favor of a foreign court, in contrast to the traditional position of the Egyptian judiciary that has been stable since the 1950s. International Jurisdiction. The research discusses this judgment in a philosophical framework. The stages of development of private international law are divided into two phases. The first is the stage of coordination between the legal systems, which arose in the 1960s in response to the alleviation of the strict adherence to the idea of ​​territorial sovereignty in international jurisdiction, Which began in the 1990s with the growth of the ideas of globalization and the universe against the independent states. Finally, the research reveals that the Egyptian Court of Cassation was affected by the stage of the universal legal system under the framework of private international law.