Egypt Legal Profile

Egypt possesses a legal system based upon Napoleonic civil and penal law, as well as Sharia law and colonial-era laws. There is an established legislative hierarchy, in which the constitution represents the supreme law. This is then followed laws passed by parliament, presidential decrees, prime ministerial decrees and ministerial resolutions. Treaties’ and international agreements’ ranks vary, but usually, they are granted the force of laws.

The role of Islam within the legal system is established in the constitution; the principles of Islamic Sharia is defined as the principal source of legislation and applied to Muslims in family and personal status courts.

The court system is tiered, composing of the Courts of First Instance, Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation at the apex of the judiciary. Furthermore, other specialised courts exist, such as military and labour courts, alongside the independent Council of State, which decides over administrative disputes, and the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Judicial independence is enshrined in Articles 94, 184, and 186 of the constitution. Nevertheless, corruption can be an issue when dealing with the courts; influenced by the political climate, court rulings may be politically motivated.

Bribery and nepotism are also rife throughout Egypt and whilst extensive anti-corruption legislation exists, it is inconsistently enforced, resulting in well-connected individuals or firms acting with impunity.

Courts may also refuse to recognise foreign arbitration judgements, despite Egypt ratifying the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States. Nevertheless, despite this, only a low percentage of companies see the courts as a major obstacle to doing business.

The Egyptian Civil Code of 1948 remains the most important legislation with regards to contracts, as well as covering their elements and nullity, obligations, gifts and partnerships. Commercial life is further governed by a variety of laws, such as the 1999 Commercial Law, the 1981 Companies Law, the 1997 Investment Incentives Law and the 1992 Capital Markets Law. These govern topics from intellectual property, to shareholding companies and stock market investment.

The Egyptian Criminal Code of 1937 is the primary penal law, which criminalises a swathe of corruption offences, and the Anti-Money Laundering Law provides further legislation. Meanwhile, the Labour Law 2003 is the main statute governing employer-employee relations, also defining a variety of worker safeguards. Furthermore, this labour law stipulates the maximum number of foreign workers that may work in a company, in both the Egyptian Custom zones and Public Free Zones.

Egypt is a signatory to many international treaties and conventions. These include the Geneva Conventions, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.

Egypt is also a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Arab League and the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, amongst others. Article 93 of the constitution states that the state is committed to international law concerning human rights which are domestically ratified, which have the force of domestic law.