EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Osama, Hana Elbarbary and Hamza Shehata, Shehata & Partners
judge, whereas cases involving greater sums of money are tried by a panel of three judges. Court of Appeal – Courts of Appeal handle civil appeals in panels of three judges. There are eight Courts of Appeal in Egypt located in Cairo, Alexandria, Tanta, Mansoura, Ismailia, Beni Suef, Assiut, and Qena. Each Court of Appeal has a separate president and is divided into circuits allocated to hear different kinds of cases. These circuits include those for economic, commercial, and criminal matters. The Supreme Administrative Court and the State Council The Supreme Administrative Court is the highest court within the State Council which is consid- ered as an independent judicial system working alongside the normal court system (explained above). In this regard, the State Council is a judicial system that hears cases that involve legal issues concerning administrative law (ie, disputes concerning administrative contracts concluded between private parties and govern- mental entities). The Economic Court Economic Courts were established in 2008 by Law No 120 of 2008, within the same premises as the Appellate Courts. The purpose of estab- lishing Economic Courts was to create a spe- cialised system to ensure swift justice through judges who specialise in and understand the complexities of economic law. Economic Courts are not considered an independent judicial sys- tem but are special courts that operate under the regular court system. Economic Courts have jurisdiction over both criminal and civil cases that have an economic nature, including but not limited to cases related to intellectual property law, capital market law,
telecommunications law, consumer protection law, financial leasing law, and e-signature laws. Economic Courts consist of two circuits: the First Instance Circuit and the Appellate Circuit. If the claim is valued at EGP15 million or less, the jurisdiction lies with the First Instance Circuit. If the claim value does not exceed EGP750,000, the circuit ruling is deemed final. If the claim exceeds EGP15 million or is of an undetermined value, the jurisdiction is assigned to the Appel- late Circuit. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings The public access to the court, the right of eve- ryone to acquire a copy of the audience record, and the right of the media to publish both the pleadings and the sentences all ensure that cases are made public. The publicising of cases does not automatically imply that the court would be open to everyone as there are some restric- tions that may apply. It is worth mentioning that the Egyptian Civil and Commercial Procedures Law No 13/1968 (the “Procedural Code”) states that if the case being public would violate the concerned family’s right to privacy, or the pub- lic’s interest, or morality, the court may rule that the hearing be held privately. However, in order to issue a ruling, it must be done in front of an audience, even if the proceedings are private. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court The Egyptian Bar Law (EBL) states the require- ments for appearing before the different levels of courts. The main prerequisite for a lawyer to appear before a court is to be registered with the Egyptian Bar. In this regard, some foreign lawyers (especially from Arab countries) would be eligible to apply for a membership with the Egyptian Bar Association subject to certain con- ditions.
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