Shahid Law Firm has successfully defended a leading international shipping Company (the “Company”) in a case filed by one of its former employees claiming amounts exceeding USD 1 million notwithstanding the employee’s confirmation by email that he received all his entitlements while resigning.
By way of background, in March 2020, the Egyptian Court of Cassation ruled that e-mails are to be considered valid evidence in the same way official documents are; and may not be challenged except if the claimant can demonstrate forgery.
Notwithstanding the employee’s objection to the validity of the email, Shahid Law Firm’s employment and disputes teams convinced the court that an email declaration from an employee confirming receipt of his entitlement must be deemed irrefutable evidence that may only be challenged if the employee could establish that it was procured by fraud since this is the only way to challenge the authenticity of “official” documents under Egyptian law.
Shahid Law Firm team was led by its Managing Partner, Girgis Abd El-Shahid and Senior Associate, Osama Hammad, along with Labor and Employment Partner, Rasha Maurice.
This judgment is not only important for labor matters, but it is also extremely important for any commercial dealings that parties enter into, especially that there is more reliance on e-dealings during these turbulent times, and the Egyptian courts showed no-resilience to sponsor this.
