EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Samer Badran, Abdelrahman Mahdy, Maya Khairy and Mazen Sayed, Badran Law Firm
given that losing parties regularly pursue challenges before the national courts. Regarding subsequent proceedings, the EAL con - tains no specific privilege rules preventing disclosure of arbitral materials. Once arbitral documents enter court proceedings, they become part of the public court record, effectively eradicating all confidentiality protections. 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements Article 43 of the EAL lists the mandatory formal requirements for a valid arbitral award. The award must: • be rendered in writing; and • be signed by the arbitrators or a majority thereof, with reasons recorded for any abstention from signature. The award must include: • the parties’ and arbitrators’ details; • written reasons (unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the award records a settlement); • the parties’ names and addresses; • the arbitrators’ names, addresses, nationalities and capacities; • a copy of the arbitration agreement; • a summary of the parties’ submissions, pleadings and documents; • the findings of the tribunal; and • the date and place of issuance. In addition, Article 44 requires delivery of a signed copy to each party within 30 days of issuance. 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 and costs.
However, arbitrators cannot award punitive damag - es, unless specified in statutory provisions, as these contradict mandatory public-policy rules in Egypt, representing an absolute limitation that cannot be overcome by party agreement and regardless of the applicable law chosen by the parties. Article 24 of the EAL permits interim measures and injunctive relief only where the parties have expressly granted this power in their arbitration agreement. In the event of non-agreement on these matters, such relief falls entirely outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction. Article 53 of the EAL provides that any award that contradicts Egyptian public policy shall be set aside ipso jure, representing the ultimate outer boundary on all arbitral remedies regardless of party agreement or applicable institutional rules. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs Interest Arbitrators may award simple interest in accordance with Egyptian law. Compound interest cannot be awarded under any circumstances. Article 226 of the Egyptian Commercial Code (Law No. 17 of 1999, as amended) sets the interest rate at 4% per annum in civil matters and 5% per annum in commercial matters. Should the parties decide to agree on another interest rate, it cannot exceed 7% per annum (Article 227 of the Egyptian Commercial Code), with awards exceeding statutory interest limits facing annulment by national courts. Legal Costs The EAL contains no specific rules on cost allocation, leaving this entirely to tribunal discretion. Typically, awarded costs include arbitrator fees and arbitration centre costs. Awarding lawyer fees and other expens - es is uncommon, though it does occur in some cases. General Practice Egyptian arbitration follows neither the strict “costs follow the event” nor a pure cost-sharing approach. General practice dictates that parties bear costs equally unless the unsuccessful party could have avoided arbitration or its claims were deemed friv - olous. Where costs are apportioned, they are com -
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