EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Hegui Taha and Farida Koura, GLA & Company
lawsuit was filed or any procedures in it taken, but before the final court judgment was issued, an amount of at least three times the minimum stipulated fine and no more than half of its maxi - mum will be paid. Settlement will terminate the criminal lawsuit. Agreements that violate the Egyptian Competition Law are considered null and void for having a criminal purpose. Private enforcement of the Egyptian Competition Law in Egypt is still at an early stage. However, in line with the general rules of Egyptian Civil Law, persons that are harmed by the violations of the Egyptian Competition Law can claim compensation from the competent court for the actions of the person committing the violation, in those cases where specific performance was not feasible. This does not have to be related to the criminal court action and the claimant can request compensation before the competent civil court even if the ECA did not refer the mat - ter to the court. The Amendments remain silent on this point. The firm anticipates more informa - tion regarding the implementation of negotiation remedies with the ECA being released upon fur - The conditions for, and timing of divestitures are not enshrined in the Egyptian Competition Law or the Executive Regulations. It is anticipated that the ECA will issue guidelines related to the remedies. However, if guidelines are not issued, remedies will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 5.6 Issuance of Decisions Formal decisions permitting or prohibiting trans - actions are made publicly available by the ECA and are generally published on the authority’s website. A statement and summary of the trans - ther application of the Amendments. 5.5 Conditions and Timing for Divestitures
action will also be published in a widely circu - lated daily newspaper in line with Article 56 of the Executive Regulations. 5.7 Prohibitions and Remedies for Foreign-to-Foreign Transactions In the event that the ECA concludes that a for - eign-to-foreign transaction will fundamentally affect the strategic ownership and management of locally based entities subject to the Egyptian legal and regulatory framework, no direct action may be taken against the foreign entity. How - ever, following international precedents and together with the relevant regulatory bodies, the operating licences of the local entities might be subject to revocation or suspension for transpar - ency, public interest or national security-related reasons. The Executive Regulations do not elab - orate further on this. 6. Ancillary Restraints and Related Transactions 6.1 Clearance Decisions and Separate Notifications To date, the scope of the Amendments and the Executive Regulations do not clearly indicate that related arrangements (ancillary restraints) are covered in an ECA clearance. Further guid - ance on this is expected to be developed by the ECA in the coming months. 7. Third-Party Rights, Confidentiality and Cross-Border Co-Operation 7.1 Third-Party Rights The Egyptian Competition Law states that the ECA may seek the opinions of experts. However,
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