Confidentiality in Arbitration: The Case of Egypt

229 Pages·2016·2.22 MB·English

by  Mariam M. El-Awa (auth.)

Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice 56
Mariam M. El-Awa
Confidentiality
in Arbitration
The Case of Egypt
Ius Gentium: Comparative
Perspectives on Law and Justice
Volume 56
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Mariam M. El-Awa
fi
Con dentiality in Arbitration
The Case of Egypt
123
Mariam M.El-Awa
El-Awa LawFirm
Cairo
Egypt
ISSN 1534-6781 ISSN 2214-9902 (electronic)
Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives onLawandJustice
ISBN978-3-319-39121-2 ISBN978-3-319-39122-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-39122-9
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Preface
An eminent arbitrator, when once asked about the consequences of breaching the
confidentiality of an arbitration, “so what?” was his answer. It astonished me that
something many law books and practitioners, at the time, assumed to be unques-
tionableprovokedsuchabrief,andalmostdismissive,response.LittledidIknow,
then, that I will spend four years of my life examining the validity of this
proposition.
In this monograph, I attempt to answer the question of “as a matter of law, is
arbitration private and confidential in Egypt?” This is a practical, as well as
scholarly, matter of concern for litigators, attorneys, and arbitrators who handle
arbitration cases in Egypt and, to a lesser extent, in other countries with similar
legal systems.
This book comprises four chapters. The first lays out the essential set of infor-
mation the reader needs to know before getting into the details of this study,
includinganintroductiontotheEgyptianlegalsystem,particularlyarbitration,and
a comparative overview of confidentiality in various legal systems. Chapter 2
examines the extent to which arbitration is confidential, or deemed to be so, in the
Egyptianarbitrationlaw,theperceptionofthelegal community(attorneys,judges,
law professors, and arbitration institutes personnel), and the relevant modern
practices. Chapter 3 examines the relation between arbitration and the judicial
system and the extent to which the former should borrow its rules from the latter
(particularly publicity and the rule of public trial). The fourth, and final chapter,
addresses the issue of privacy and confidentiality in the broader context of the
Egyptian legal system. Its main focus is the right to privacy, as a constitutional
right, and how is it interpreted in the various laws of Egypt.
Confidentiality is fascinating especially when considered in the context of a
culturallyandlegallyhybriddomainasthatofarbitration.Whileitmightappearto
be a simple and straightforward notion, it is far from that. The complexity of the
endeavour to examine confidentiality, as a legal notion, is not made any easier by
the involvement of different categories of persons in any given arbitration and the
legalinstrumentsthatwould,inviewofthat,comeintoplay.Anotherdifficultythat
v
vi Preface
rendered this research more interesting was the little attention given to confiden-
tialityinArabicliterature.Tofillinthisgap,Iconducted29interviewswithjudges;
key personnel in arbitration institutes; law professors; and practitioners who often
actasarbitratorsorcounselforpartiesinarbitraldisputes.Thediscussioncovered,
but was not limited to, the relevant practices, on both domestic and international
levels,andtheviewstheyheldonthetopic,basedontheirmanyyearsofarbitration
practice. Those interviews were a source of invaluable insights into the issues
addressed in this book. I hope they will be of the same value to the reader.
Theinformationincludedinthisbookistruetothebestofmyknowledge,atthe
time it was written. Any errors or mistakes are mine alone. I would be immensely
gratefultothereaderwhofindsanysuchinaccuracyorchangeinthelaw,asstated
in this book, and pinpoints it out to me.
Cairo, Egypt Mariam M. El-Awa
March 2016
Acknowledgements
This book is largely based on the research I did in the course of writing my Ph.D.
thesis,itstopicwasresearchedanditstextwaswrittenoverthelengthoffouryears.
Over this period of time, many people have kindly offered me their advice and
support and in their own way have contributed to this research. I am, and always
will be, deeply indebted to all of them.
IammostlygratefultoDr.FedericoOrtino,forhiscontinuedacademicsupport
throughouttheyearsandtheusefuladvicehekindlyofferedfromwhichIbenefited
endlessly. Thanks are also due to Professor Philip Capper, who was, despite his
overly busy schedule, able to make the time to read the earliest drafts of this work
andtocommentonthemthoroughly.Hisremarkswereinvaluabletothisresearch.
This research would not have been possible if it were not for the financial
generosity of The Yamani Cultural and Charitable Foundation which provided the
fundingnecessaryforitsconduct.IparticularlymentionDr.ThorunnLonsdale;she
has constantly showed much kindness and confidence in my ability to finish in a
timelymannerandtoproduceanoutstandingpieceofresearch.Atthemostdifficult
stagesofthisresearch,hersayingthat“Iseeyouareontopofeverything”wasthe
motivation needed to keep going. I very much hope that this book lives up to her
expectations!
I am also indebted to the 29 practitioners whom I interviewed in the course of
thisresearch.Theyshowedaninterestinmytopic,madethetimenecessaryforthe
interviews,andengagedintheseriousdiscussionsthattookplace.Thisgavemethe
advantageofunderstandingtheissuesdiscussedfromtheperspectiveoftheirmany
years of experience.
ThanksarealsoextendedtoSalwaEl-Awaforherupfrontwarningthatwritinga
“PhD is a humbling experience”. I thank her for this, and yes it has proved to be
true, and also for the endless hours of overseas calls discussing my research pro-
gress. I am also grateful to Abdurahman El-Awa, whose being in the UK during
these years has made the whole experience much more pleasant.
vii
viii Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my thanks to Fatima El-Awa, Amal El-Awshmawy, and
Marwa Abdulatif, for accompanying me through this journey, listening to my
ranting and endless complaints, and all the other things they know! I would also
like to extend my thanks to Amal El-Tarzi for having kindly proofread the earlier
drafts of this book and even more for her unconditional friendship and love.
NowordscanexpresshowgratefulIamtoMohamedEl-Awa,whowasthefirst
to teach me about my right to privacy, and Amani El-Ashmawy who was the first
onetotellmeIwouldmakeagoodlawyer—Sincerely,Icannotthankyouenough.
Last but not least, I am grateful to Asmahan Bakier who taught me academic
analysisintheearliestessaysIwrote;Ihopethecompletionofthisbookmakesyou
happy and proud.
Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
1 Essential Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Objectives and Scope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Arbitration and the Egyptian Legal System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.1 The Sources of Law in Egypt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.2 Arbitration in Egypt—Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.3 Arbitration Is an Exception. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3.4 National and International Arbitration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4 Confidentiality and Privacy in Arbitration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.4.1 Concepts and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.5 Comparative Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.1 Jurisdictions Declining to Recognize a Duty
of Confidentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.2 Jurisdictions Recognizing a Duty of Confidentiality. . . . . . 24
1.5.3 In Investment Arbitration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.5.4 Confidentiality in Arbitration—the Arab Countries . . . . . . 35
1.6 Methodology and Outline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2 Privacy and Confidentiality in Egyptian Arbitration—Law
and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.2 Confidentiality v. Privacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.3 Privacy of Arbitration Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.3.1 Privacy in the Egyptian Law of Arbitration . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.3.2 The Syrian Position as to Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.3.3 The Saudi Exception. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.3.4 Tribal Arbitration in Yemen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.4 Consequences of Breach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
ix