Past Events

Ms. Fatma Ibrahim (World Bank Group) lectured a group of lawyers, engineers and accountants on the financial benefits of using mediation to resolve commercial disputes. The Lecturer explained the "toolbox" of dispute resolution, provided the audience with practical tools to determine the practicality of resorting to mediation or other forms of dispute resolution, as well as worked with the audience on a practical case that identified a number of financial elements that counsels should take into account when advising the parties of the most suitable form of dispute resolution.  

On 10 September 2014, Dr. Ismail Selim, Partner, Zulficar and Partners delivered a lecture entitled "International Public Policy in Commercial Arbitration". Dr. Selim defined the notion of International Public Policy not only in Private International Law, but also and more specifically as a bar to enforcement of arbitral awards. It was noted that such notion designates the body of principles and rules recognized by a State, which, by their nature, may bar the recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award rendered in the context of international Commercial arbitration when recognition or enforcement of said award would entail their violation on account either of the procedure pursuant to which it was rendered (procedural international public policy) or of its contents (substantive international public policy)." The Lecturer clarified that such notion is adopted by the majority of states even though only few states explicitly adopt in their Arbitration Laws the term "International Public Policy". Indeed, other states adopt such notion in their jurisprudence whether explicitly or by differentiating between "Public Policy" under Article V-2-b of the New York Convention from one side and mandatory rules from the other side. Examples were given from the jurisprudence of numerous common law and civil law countries including Egypt. The lecture also involved an important differentiation between the notions of "International Public Policy" and "Transnational Public Policy" and explained the notion of "Lois de Police". Dr. Selim concluded with an overview of two very recent decisions of the Egyptian Court of Cassation on Public Policy in Arbitration. The lecture was very well received from attendees representing many sectors.

The Mediation Breakfast Seminar of June was delivered by Dr. Eman Mansour, Director of the Investors' Dispute Settlement Centre of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), under the title "Confidentiality Guarantees in Mediation". At the outset, Dr. Mansour highlighted the privileges of mediation and responded to possible fears and concerns as based on the comparative law and practice of mediation. The Seminar displayed the various guarantees of confidentiality in mediation under different jurisdictions. Legislative guarantees in different national laws as well as regulatory securities in institutional rules and practices were tackled. The lecture also highlighted the legal penalties for the breach of confidentiality in a number of national legislations including the Draft Egyptian Mediation Law. The presentation was followed by constructive discussions and noticeable interaction from the audience who represented investment companies, ministries, schools of law, holding companies, tourism companies and general authorities and law firms.  

On June 23, 2014, CRCICA hosted the international launching seminar of Henri Capitant's Association entitled "The necessity of reforming Private and Economic Relations Laws: a Franco-Egyptian perspective". The general theme involved a close examination and comparison between the evolution of the French and Egyptian laws regarding different legal topics such as the reform of the French civil law, the non-execution of contracts under Egyptian law, the evolution of economic law, evidence law and the evolution of arbitration law. The seminar helped connecting the legal French speaking community in Egypt from universities, law firms and the different sectors of business environment and also managed to draw a closer look at the challenges and evolution of both the French and Egyptian laws. The event was organized on the occasion of establishing the Association's Egypt Group, which will function temporarily under the auspices of the IDAI ("Institut de Droit des Affaires Internationales" in Cairo), which is a delocalized branch of the prestigious University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. The establishment of the Egypt Group will foster collaboration between Egyptian and French jurists and will, hence, widen the scope of research in many important topics and changes made in the Egyptian law and case law. Members of the Egyptian Group are Prof. Dr. Hossam Loutfi, Professor at Cairo University, Director of the Civil Law Department (Beni Suef), Dr. Maged Ackad, Principal, Ackad Law Office, Dr. Ismail Selim, Partner, Zulficar & Partners Law Firm, and CRCICA Director, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf. It is notable that the Henri Capitant Association of Friends of French Legal Culture (Association Henri Capitant des Amis de la Culture Juridique Française) has been involved in the process of reforming the French civil law. The Association, which celebrates its 75th birthday this year, is present through national groups and correspondents in more than 55 countries and has undertaken numerous initiatives, all aimed at showcasing the values and methods of the civil law legal culture. It organizes numerous events, preeminent among them are the International Days, which have been held since its inception, and the proceedings of which are published in a collection which today includes more than sixty volumes. Each year, these International Days revolve around a theme that involves various branches of the law (private and public, national and international), and bring together lawyers from some thirty countries in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.  

On June 18, 2014, Dr. Karim Youssef, partner and head of Middle East arbitration at Amereller Legal Consultants (associated with Mena Associates in Cairo) and associate professor of Law at Cairo University School of Law, gave a lecture titled "Key Procedural Issues in International Arbitrations Seated in Cairo: the Case for Pragmatic and Efficient Solutions." The lecture was intended to be interactive and focused on practical aspects of doing document production in Cairo. The lecture instigated useful and informative reactions from the floor about the regulation of document production by the parties, under the Egyptian Evidence Law in Civil and Commercial Matters, and under the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence. The interaction with the audience that followed extended to broader aspects of arbitration in Egypt and the day-to-day practical experiences of arbitration practitioners, lawyers generally but also practitioners with non-legal backgrounds, which contributed to enriching the discussion. Participants represented law firms, schools of law, construction and engineering companies, holding companies, industrial corporations, judicial authorities, general prosecutions, state courts, ministries, investment companies, banks, tourism sector, oil and gas corporations, maritime and social insurance companies, trade firms and international organizations.