EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Ahmed Kotb, Mohamed Ehab, Mohamed Sameh and Yasmine ElSakka, Khodeir & Partners
appointment of arbitrators. For example, in the event that the parties agreed that the arbitration proceed - ings should be conducted under the auspices of CRCICA, the CRCICA Rules shall apply. It should be noted that the EAL does not regulate the failure of the method for selecting arbitrators in multi - party arbitration. However, in institutional arbitrations conducted under CRCICA, Article 11 of the CRCICA Rules addresses the constitution of the arbitral tribu - nal in multiparty arbitration, and in the event of failure to appoint arbitrators via the method as provided in Article 11, CRCICA shall constitute the arbitral tribu - nal. 4.3 Court Intervention As mentioned in 4.2 Default Procedures , in ad hoc arbitrations, in the event that the parties’ method to appoint arbitrators fails, the Egyptian courts may intervene in the appointment of arbitrators upon the request of either party by filing a lawsuit before the competent court (Court of Cassation, Challenge No. 489 of JY 67, 12 March 2013). While appointing an arbitrator, the court shall apply the requirements as mentioned in 4.1 Limits on Selec- tion . The decision rendered by the court appointing an arbitrator is not subject to appeal by any means of recourse, except in cases of breach of the law or of the parties’ agreement. However, a decision rejecting the appointment of an arbitrator may be subject to appeal (Court of Cassation, Challenge No. 5211 of JY 78, 18 February 2015). 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators Articles 18 and 19 of the EAL address the challenge or removal of arbitrators in ad hoc arbitrations. According to Article 18 of the EAL, an arbitrator may not be challenged except where circumstances exist that give rise to serious doubts as to his/her impar - tiality or independence. It adds that neither party may challenge an arbitrator whom it has appointed or in whose appointment it has participated, except for rea - sons discovered after making the appointment. Article 19 of the EAL further provides that a party may only challenge an arbitrator once. It also addresses
the procedures for filing a request to challenge an arbitrator. The request must be submitted in writing to the arbitral tribunal, clearly stating the reasons for the challenge, within 15 days of the date on which the challenging party became aware of either the tri - bunal’s composition or the circumstances justifying the challenge. If the challenged arbitrator does not voluntarily withdraw within 15 days of the request, the matter shall be referred to the competent court, which shall issue a final and non-appealable decision. Filing a challenge request does not suspend the arbitra - tion process. However, if the challenge is upheld, all actions taken by the challenged arbitrator, including the arbitral award, shall be null and void. Aside from the challenge requests, Article 20 of the EAL provides that the competent court may, upon the request of either party, order the termination of an arbitrator’s mandate, if he/she becomes unable to perform his/her duties, fails to commence them, or ceases to carry them out in a manner that causes unjustified delay in the arbitration proceedings, and does not voluntarily withdraw, and the parties do not agree to remove him/her. 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements According to Article 16 of the EAL, an arbitrator shall accept his/her mandate in writing, disclosing any cir - cumstances that could raise doubt as to his/her inde - pendence or impartiality. In the same vein, Article 12 of the CRCICA Rules also requires an arbitrator to submit a written disclosure at the time of his/her appointment, revealing any circum - stances that could reasonably taint his/her independ - ence or impartiality. This obligation remains in effect for the duration of the proceedings. Furthermore, arbitrators must avoid ex parte communications with either party regarding the arbitration. The Court of Cassation further established that the duty of impartiality and independence applies to arbi - trators appointed by the parties, as it is a fundamen - tal principle of the Egyptian Arbitration Law (Court of Cassation, Challenges No. 7913 and 13996 of JY 91, 9 May 2023).
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