EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Osama, Hana Elbarbary and Hamza Shehata, Shehata & Partners
and giving it a number, a hearing is scheduled within two weeks from the registration date. The defendant must be notified within that period. On the day of the hearing, the opponents must appear in person or by proxy. If the defendant is present, the court may set another hearing upon the defendant’s request to present their defences and supporting documents. In addi- tion, the opponents must be heard during the hearing, and the memorandums are considered a part of the hearing. It should be noted that in practice in civil matters, written submissions are much more common than oral hearings. Also, the court may assign one or more experts to examine the case and to submit a technical report, and it may invite the expert to a hearing in order to discuss its report if it deems neces- sary. In practice, if the court is satisfied with the expert’s report, it may seek guidance from it in its judgment. However, the expert’s report does not bind the court. 7.2 Case Management Hearings In general, the Egyptian judicial system does not include the case management hearing system, however, there are specific laws that provide the existence of similar hearings as follows. • The Preparation and Mediation Authority established under the Law Establishing Eco- nomic Courts No 120 of 2008 (the “Economic Courts Law”). A body shall be established in each economic court called the Preparation and Mediation Authority which undertakes the preparation and mediation in the lawsuits within the jurisdiction of this court. This does not include criminal cases, appeals, and other cases excluded by this law, or those referred to the economic courts for subject-matter jurisdiction.
• The State Commissioner’s Authority referred to in the State Council Law No 47 of 1972 (the “State Council Law”). The State Com- missioner’s Authority prepares the case for the hearing, and then the commissioner – after completing the case preparation – files a report in which they identify the facts and legal issues raised by the dispute and expresses their reasoned opinion. Later on, and within three days from the date of filing the report, the State Commissioner’s Author- ity will present the file to the president of the court to set the date of the hearing in which the case will be heard. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases The Egyptian judicial system does not include a jury trial system, it applies only a bench trial system; where only the judges are allowed to make trial decisions. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The general rules governing the admission of evidence in Egyptian law exist under the Egyp- tian Law No 25 of 1968 on Evidence in Civil and Commercial Procedures (the “Evidence Law”). The admission of electronic documents as evi- dence is governed partially by the E-signature Law No 15 of 2004 and its executive regulations (the “E-signature Law”). Generally, every party submits what they con- sider useful for their claim and are not obligated to submit a document requested by their coun- ter-party unless under the conditions mentioned under 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases . It is also possible to obtain facts from a third party other than the opponents, such as hearing witnesses and experts to examine and research the technical issues.
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