EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Osama, Hana Elbarbary and Hamza Shehata, Shehata & Partners
7.5 Expert Testimony The parties may request the appointment of an expert during the case. Also, the court may, sua sponte, appoint an expert. Following the sub- mission of the expert’s report, the court may invite the expert to a hearing in order to discuss its report if it deems necessary. In addition, the court may address questions to the expert, sua sponte, or based on a party’s request if it deems it useful to the case. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public The hearings are public in Egypt unless the court decides otherwise, either sua sponte or upon a party’s request. A private hearing aims primar- ily to preserve the public order, to respect the morals or the sanctity of the family. However, the judgment pronouncement must be public, otherwise, it becomes invalid. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The parties appear before the civil courts and each party submits a memorandum of defence and supporting documents. The judge directs the conduct of the hearings and sets the dates for submitting documents and memorandums. However, the judge cannot direct them to their defence, and the court is not obligated to assign the opponents to provide evidence for their requests. When the case becomes fully prepared, the judge issues its judgment on the case, and the judgment is either preliminary by one of the evi- dentiary procedures (such as an obligation to submit a document based on the opponent’s request, hearing witness testimony, or appoint- ing an expert; these judgments cannot be appealed), or a final judgment on the subject matter of the dispute. In this regard, final judg- ment can be appealed by the losing party.
7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings In practice, timeframes for proceedings are in most cases as follows: • regarding the cases before the courts of first instance (without appointing an expert) the duration of the case is between six and nine months; • regarding cases before the courts of first instance, in which an expert is appointed, the duration of the case ranges from a year-and- a-half to two years; • regarding cases before the Courts of Appeal, the duration ranges from one to one-and-a- half years; and • regarding cases before the Court of Cas- sation, the duration of the case varies on a case-by-case basis. In cases where settlement is permitted, the par- ties may settle, provided that the subject of the settlement is not contrary to the public order and morals. In Egypt, the opponents may request the court, at any stage during the case, to record their settlement in the hearing minutes. The writ- ten agreement will be appended to the hearing minutes and its content will be recorded therein. The hearing minutes shall then have the force of a writ of execution. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The act of settlement is public, meaning that the information that both parties have settled is public. However, the content of the settlement agreement remains confidential. Only the parties concerned with the dispute will have access to 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
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