Shahid Law Firm, acting for South Korean Group Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, succeeded in enforcing interim measures ordered by an ICC tribunal seated abroad against Damietta International Port Company for the stay of liquidation of bonds which value exceeded USD 18 million by securing a judgement by the Cairo Court of Appeal upholding a decision of the chief justice last January, who ordered the enforcement of the interim measure.
The judgment of the Cairo Court of Appeal continues to set precedent in the recognition and enforcement of the ICC tribunal’s interim measure, as it affirms the process through which interim measures issued by arbitral tribunals will be recognised in Egypt, and thus fills a void in the Egyptian Arbitration Law.
The Cairo Court of Appeal acknowledges that the general objective of the New York Convention, to which Egypt acceded in 1959, is to facilitate the enforcement of foreign arbitral orders and awards in compliance with national arbitration legislation, and confirms that the provisions that must be complied with to obtain exequatur of awards do not apply to interim measures. Instead, recognition and enforcement of such orders can be obtained through simple ex parte application. Further, to fill in the “void” in the Egyptian Arbitration Law, the Court relied on the provisions of the 2006 UNCITRAL Model Law regulating the process of enforcement of interim measures, and established that the sole role of the court is to assess whether the tribunal’s procedure in issuing the measures conformed with these provisions, without delving into their substance.
The Shahid Law team working on this matter was led by Partners Girgis Abd El-Shahid and Sameh Attia, whose team included Inji Fathalla and Terez Laban.
For further information, please consult the Global Arbitration Review at https://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1169888/cairo-court-fills-interim-measures-void-in-egyptian-law?gator_td=9dAKxjxzfxrFIpkSj3CWzGkCORoRVw%2boD%2bV7EAeZqTM4U%2fvF350No7p08VTcNHxdRjgvHLX8GPv2x82NhdvYfF4PEcmceGlClxqA8PJ%2fZ9dxm1%2fFo%2bVih3hpOIZYV9vkca2ixcYK964Mdi%2ftww7aWDs3w5mQbnKADSh07fjD0vr2yxALfkctiKi8dCUggq4wscabzUnrMHGJKRAA4mEYSqb%2feK%2fkx%2fL68PRvvhKJxoQ%3d.
