EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Samer Badran, Abdelrahman Mahdy, Maya Khairy and Mazen Sayed, Badran Law Firm
Such authority exists provided that the parties have expressly agreed to it, either in their arbitration agree - ment or through the institutional arbitration rules they have chosen to govern the proceedings.
majority of the arbitrators and supported by reasoning for the award. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators Under Article 16 of the EAL, arbitrators must maintain strict independence and impartiality throughout the proceedings, with a continuing duty to disclose any circumstances that may raise doubts as to either. Moreover, arbitrators hold broad procedural authority. Pursuant to Article 25, in the absence of party agree - ment on procedure, the tribunal may adopt the rules it considers appropriate, ensuring flexibility and filling gaps in party agreement. Under Article 24, where both parties so agree, the tribunal may order interim and conservatory measures upon request. Pursuant to Article 36, the tribunal may appoint one or more experts to submit written or oral reports on specific issues. Where the parties have not designated a seat, Article 28 empowers the tribunal to determine the seat of arbitration having regard to the circum - stances of the case and the parties’ convenience. Finally, Article 39 (4) permits the tribunal to decide the dispute either according to the rules of law or, with party authorisation, ex aequo et bono. 7.4 Legal Representatives Under Egyptian law, the right to appear as a legal representative before arbitral tribunals is governed by Article 16 of the EAL, which states that parties are free to choose representatives of their own selection, without requiring those representatives to hold Egyp - tian nationality or Egyptian Bar membership, or even to be a lawyer. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence The collection and submission of evidence in Egyptian arbitration is governed by the EAL, the Egyptian Evi - dence Law (Law No. 25 of 1968 on Evidence in Civil and Commercial Matters, as amended), party agree - ment and, increasingly, soft law instruments such as
7. Procedure 7.1 Governing Rules
Subject to the parties’ agreement where possible, the EAL contains arbitration procedural rules that govern, among other procedures, the tribunal’s constitution, the conduct of proceedings and the award(s). Article 25 of the EAL establishes party autonomy as the foundational procedural principle, granting parties broad freedom to agree on the applicable procedural rules and the possibility to submit their dispute to spe - cific institutional rules. Only in the absence of party agreement does the tribunal exercise its own proce - dural discretion, subject to mandatory EAL provisions. 7.2 Procedural Steps While procedure is primarily governed by party auton - omy, the EAL establishes several mandatory steps applicable to all arbitral proceedings. Foundational to any arbitration is the proper constitu - tion of the tribunal. Article 15 of the EAL requires an odd number of arbitrators on penalty of annulment, while Article 16 mandates written acceptance from each arbitrator alongside disclosure of any circum - stances affecting their independence or impartiality. Proceedings formally commence, per Article 27, upon the respondent’s receipt of the request for arbitration, triggering all subsequent timelines. Once constituted, the tribunal must ensure equal treatment of all parties throughout, granting each a full opportunity to present its case, a procedural guar - antee enshrined in Article 26. Article 30 requires the claimant to submit a written statement of claim and the respondent a written statement of defence, both within agreed or tribunal-determined timeframes. At the conclusion of proceedings, Articles 40 and 43 govern formal award requirements, mandating awards to be issued in writing after deliberation, signed by the
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