EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Hashish, Heba El Abd, Mariam Rabie, Mohamed Selim and Abdelaziz Mohamed, Soliman, Hashish & Partners
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order
The Supreme Constitutional Court The Supreme Constitutional Court is an autonomous and independent judicial body with its headquarters in Cairo. However, in cases of necessity, it may, upon the approval of its General Assembly, hold its ses - sions elsewhere in Egypt. The Supreme Constitutional Court is solely competent to decide on the constitu - tionality of laws and regulations, interpret legislative provisions, and adjudicate on disputes pertaining to the affairs of its members, on jurisdictional disputes between judicial bodies and entities that have judicial jurisdiction, on disputes pertaining to the implementa - tion of two final contradictory judgments, one of which is rendered by a judicial body or an authority with judi - cial jurisdiction and the other is rendered by another, as well as on disputes pertaining to the execution of The State Lawsuits Authority is an Egyptian judicial institution that resembles, in respect of competencies, the Attorney General in common law disciplines and particularly the United States Solicitor General. The Authority represents the interests of the State in a variety of areas before national and international courts and arbitral tribunals. Under the applicable law, the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority is granted the power to plead on behalf of the State even if the State itself does not wish to do so. its judgments and decisions. The State Lawsuits Authority 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments Foreign investments are subject to screening in Egypt based on specific criteria, including the investor’s nationality and the company’s activities, given that activities carried out by non-Egyptian investors, as well as the investor’s nationality, may be restricted by relevant Egyptian laws and may require certain conditions to be met. Therefore, screening must be performed to ensure the satisfaction of these condi - tions and requirements. It is worth noting that foreign ownership restrictions are applicable in several sec - tors and locations such as:
The Egyptian legal system is primarily based on the French civil legal system, various other European codes, and religious law. In practice, religious law is applied only to personal status and family matters which are governed by the religious law of the indi - vidual concerned. The fundamental and organic law of Egypt is its constitution, which was passed in a ref - erendum in January 2014 and amended in April 2019. The Egyptian judiciary is highly independent, and judges are immune to dismissal, subject to no other authority but the law, and equal in rights and duties. The judicial order under the Egyptian system is out - lined below. Regular Courts At the apex of the regular judiciary system in Egypt is the Court of Cassation, which was established in 1931 and is based in Cairo. The Court of Cassation is a court of law as opposed to a trial court and guarantees the uniformity and consistency of the implementation and interpretation of the law. Following this are the courts of appeal which have the competence to consider rul - ings by the courts of first instance falling under their jurisdiction, should these rulings be subject to appeal. Next are the first instance courts, also known as pri - mary courts, which are strategically located in various district capitals. Complementing these are summary courts, which are found in central locations, coast - al towns, and even within certain neighbourhoods. These courts’ jurisdictions are determined based on two main factors: the monetary value involved in the legal matter and the specific geographic area over which the court has authority. State Council The State Council is an independent judicial body competent to adjudicate administrative disputes and disciplinary proceedings. The judicial section consists of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Administra - tive Judiciary Court, the administrative courts, the disciplinary courts, and the State Commissioners’ Authority, each competent to consider such submis - sions in accordance with the law.
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