EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Ahmed Kotb, Mohamed Ehab, Mohamed Sameh and Yasmine ElSakka, Khodeir & Partners
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements Article 43 of the EAL sets the requirements for an arbi - tral award to be valid: • The award must be issued in writing and signed by the arbitrators. In the case of a tribunal composed of more than one arbitrator, the signatures of the majority are sufficient, provided that the reasons for the minority’s lack of signature are stated in the award. • The award must provide the reasoning based on which the decision was determined, unless the parties to the arbitration agree otherwise or the applicable law governing the arbitration procedure does not require the inclusion of the reasoning. • The award must include the names and addresses of the parties, the names, addresses, nationalities and qualifications of the arbitrators, a copy of the arbitration agreement, a summary of the parties’ claims, statements and evidence, the award’s operative part, and the date and place of issuance, along with the reasons if their inclusion is required. According to Article 45 of the EAL, the arbitral tribunal is required to issue a final award resolving the entire dispute within the agreed timeframe between the par - ties. In the absence of such agreement, the arbitration award shall be issued within 12 months from the initia - tion of the arbitration proceedings, with a possibility of an extension not exceeding six months, unless the parties agree to a longer period. If the award is not issued within the timeframe set by the law or the par - ties’ agreement for the entire arbitration proceedings, either party can request the president of the com - petent court to set a new deadline or terminate the arbitration proceedings. In such cases, either party can also bring the matter before the competent court. 10.2 Types of Remedies The EAL does not impose any limits on the types of remedies that an arbitral tribunal may award. Hence, the tribunal may issue different types of remedies such as specific performance or monetary compensation, legal interests and costs. Nevertheless, tribunals may not award punitive damages or any damages that are in violation of Egyptian public policy.
10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The parties are entitled to recover interest and legal costs, but the EAL does not regulate the recovery of them. Article 226 of the ECC sets the interest at a rate of 4% per annum in civil matters and 5% per annum in commercial matters to be applied from the date of the judicial claim. Moreover, Article 227 of the ECC grants the parties the right to agree on another inter - est rate, provided that this rate does not exceed 7% per annum. The Court of Cassation added that the amounts sought by way of interest shall not exceed the amount of the debt itself, unless otherwise pro - vided by law or custom. The legislator deviated from this rule in banking operations, as it settled on the determination of interest rates in accordance with monetary and credit policy, without being bound by the limits stipulated in any other legislation (Court of Cassation, Challenge No. 12170 of JY 92, dated 25 February 2025). Allocation of the costs between the parties is subject to the discretion of the arbitral tribunal. An arbitral award is not subject to appeal as per Arti - cle 52 of the EAL. Rather, parties may request the annulment of the arbitral award within 90 days of the notification of the award as per Article 54 of the EAL. The grounds for annulment are mentioned exclusively in Article 53 of the EAL as follows: • if there is no arbitration agreement, or if such agreement is void, is voidable or has expired; • if one of the parties to the arbitration agreement was, at the time of its conclusion, legally incapaci - tated or of diminished capacity under the applica - ble law governing such capacity; • if one of the parties was unable to present their case due to not being properly notified of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings, or for any other reason beyond their control; 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
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