EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Samer Badran, Abdelrahman Mahdy, Maya Khairy and Mazen Sayed, Badran Law Firm
12.3 Approach of the Courts Egyptian courts adopt a generally pro-enforcement approach. The competent court for enforcement examines whether the formal and substantive condi - tions for enforcement are satisfied but does not review the merits of the award or reassess the arbitrators’ reasoning. Pursuant to Article 58 of the EAL, an exequatur may be refused on only three grounds, including contra - vention of Egyptian public policy, which the court may raise ex officio. Public policy is the most significant and commonly invoked ground for refusal. While the EAL does not explicitly provide for the distinction between domestic and international public policy, Egyptian courts have nonetheless adopted this dis - tinction in practice. This means that when reviewing a foreign arbitration award, courts would apply a higher threshold. 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration The EAL contains no provision expressly authorising class actions or group arbitration proceedings. How - ever, while no rule prevents group arbitration proceed - ings from being conducted, a class-action arbitral award may be limited by (1) the legal requirements of public policy related to capacity and authority, and (2) the relative effect of res judicata of the arbitral award. 13.2 Ethical Codes Counsel The EAL contains no express provision imposing binding ethical obligations on counsel appearing in arbitral proceedings. Nonetheless, Egyptian lawyers registered at the Egyptian Bar Association acting as counsel remain subject to the disciplinary framework of the Egyptian Advocacy Law, notably the duties of professional integrity, confidentiality, loyalty to the client, and avoidance of conflicts of interest albeit, without dedicated and codified rules of professional conduct comparable to Bar Association ethics codes in other jurisdictions.
• the original award or a signed copy thereof; • a copy of the arbitration agreement; • a certified Arabic translation of the award if ren - dered in a foreign language; and • a copy of the procès-verbal confirming deposit of the award with the competent court. Under Article 58 of the EAL, enforcement may only be granted once the 90-day deadline for filing an annul - ment action has expired, and is subject to three cumu - lative conditions: • the award must not contradict a prior Egyptian court judgment on the merits; • it must not violate Egyptian public policy; and • the respondent must have been duly notified of the arbitral proceedings. Regarding ongoing set-aside proceedings, the mere filing of an annulment action does not automatically suspend enforcement. Suspension remains within the court’s discretion upon the applicant’s request and subject to the existence of serious grounds. As for awards set aside at the seat, the EAL does not include a provision equivalent to Article V(1)(e) of the New York Convention on non-enforcement of annulled awards; the latter has, however, the same value as a legislative act and courts would base their decision upon it. Noting that Article V(1)(e) does not require state courts to enforce or to abstain from enforcing an arbitral award that has been set aside in its seat, Egyp - tian courts assess on a case-by-case basis whether an award set aside at the seat remains enforceable in Egypt. In practice, Egyptian courts would be reluctant to recognise and/or enforce foreign awards that were set aside or nullified at the seat. Finally, state immunity cannot generally be invoked at the enforcement stage, provided that the state entity concerned has validly consented to arbitration and obtained the necessary prior approvals. However, sovereign immunity may still be successfully invoked to shield specific categories of public assets from enforcement. Article 87 of the Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948, as amended) provides that public assets of the Egyptian state are immune from enforcement and attachment procedures.
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