Specialized Economic Courts: Promis
Specialized Economic Courts: Promising Efforts in Establishing the New Courts
The July release of Egypt Legal Update covered in detail the new Specialized Economic Courts Law, outlining its key aspects and the challenges that lie ahead in implementing its provisions (Please refer to July Egypt Legal Update). Between the 20th and 21st of August 2008, two decrees were issued by the Minister of Justice (Number 6928 and 6929 respectively) concerning some of the practical rules of implementation needed to put the Specialized Economic Courts into effect:
- Decree 6928 of 2008 provides the conditions for registration of the experts who will provide their expertise to the new Courts. It is worth recalling that one of the most promising aspects of the new Law is that it allows the use of outside experts by the Courts. The new regulations provide the details in this respect. The experts must be university graduates (but not necessarily legal experts) and may not be practicing lawyers. The decree also states the procedures for application, vetting and registration of the experts.
- Decree 6929 of 2008 provides the executive regulations for the preparation of cases to be submitted to the new courts. Again, it is worth noting that one of the key departures of the Specialized Economic Courts Law from general principles of litigation is that cases are «prepared» by a special judicial committee prior to submission to the court. This ensures that the case is viewed only after all relevant documents have been completed, the submissions made, and the file is ready to be viewed by the Court. As a result, the overall time that the Court would have spent on the case will be significantly reduced. Moreover, the «preparation» stage allows the judicial committee in charge thereof to attempt to mediate between the parties to the dispute. The Decree covers the procedural aspects of the working of the committees. In spite of the fact that both decrees deal only with procedural aspects, they are worth noting because they indicate that the Ministry of Justice is mobilizing its resources behind the implementation of the new law as well as gradually issuing the secondary legislation needed for its application. This is an encouraging sign and we should expect more to follow soon.
The July release of Egypt Legal Update covered in detail the new Specialized Economic Courts Law, outlining its key aspects and the challenges that lie ahead in implementing its provisions (Please refer to July Egypt Legal Update). Between the 20th and 21st of August 2008, two decrees were issued by the Minister of Justice (Number 6928 and 6929 respectively) concerning some of the practical rules of implementation needed to put the Specialized Economic Courts into effect:
- Decree 6928 of 2008 provides the conditions for registration of the experts who will provide their expertise to the new Courts. It is worth recalling that one of the most promising aspects of the new Law is that it allows the use of outside experts by the Courts. The new regulations provide the details in this respect. The experts must be university graduates (but not necessarily legal experts) and may not be practicing lawyers. The decree also states the procedures for application, vetting and registration of the experts.
- Decree 6929 of 2008 provides the executive regulations for the preparation of cases to be submitted to the new courts. Again, it is worth noting that one of the key departures of the Specialized Economic Courts Law from general principles of litigation is that cases are «prepared» by a special judicial committee prior to submission to the court. This ensures that the case is viewed only after all relevant documents have been completed, the submissions made, and the file is ready to be viewed by the Court. As a result, the overall time that the Court would have spent on the case will be significantly reduced. Moreover, the «preparation» stage allows the judicial committee in charge thereof to attempt to mediate between the parties to the dispute. The Decree covers the procedural aspects of the working of the committees. In spite of the fact that both decrees deal only with procedural aspects, they are worth noting because they indicate that the Ministry of Justice is mobilizing its resources behind the implementation of the new law as well as gradually issuing the secondary legislation needed for its application. This is an encouraging sign and we should expect more to follow soon.