Procedures
French-model civil procedure with Economic Courts for commercial disputes
The Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure of 1968 governs ordinary litigation. The Economic Courts, created in 2008, handle defined commercial and investment matters with shorter timetables.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Courts of first instance, courts of appeal and the Court of Cassation, plus the Economic Courts and the separate State Council hierarchy for administrative matters.
- Deadline — 40 days to appeal a first-instance judgment in most civil matters
- Deadline — 60 days to petition the Court of Cassation
- Deadline — Arbitral awards must be challenged within 90 days of notification
Governing law
- Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, Law 13/1968
- Law 120/2008 establishing the Economic Courts
- Arbitration Law 27/1994 — based on the UNCITRAL Model Law
- Law 146/2019 amending enforcement provisions
In practice
Delay is the central practical problem in Egyptian civil litigation, and the Economic Courts exist because of it; choosing the right forum at the outset is often the single most consequential procedural decision. Arbitration Law 27/1994 is a Model Law statute and Egypt is a New York Convention party, so foreign awards are enforceable, but the Cassation Court has developed a body of case law on arbitrability and on public policy that must be checked before relying on an award. Enforcement against state entities raises separate difficulties, and administrative claims must be brought in the State Council rather than the ordinary courts, which means a misdirected claim loses time it cannot recover.