Commercial Disputes in Egypt: An Overview of Their Types and the Competent Courts

The Egyptian legislature established the Economic Courts under Law No. 120 of 2008, aiming to provide specialized, relatively faster adjudication for complex commercial and investment disputes, rather than routing them through the slower, general track of ordinary civil courts.

The most notable types of disputes falling within the Economic Courts' jurisdiction: general commercial disputes (wholesale sales, supply, commercial agency, commercial contracts), company disputes (disputes between partners or shareholders, claims to nullify general assembly or board resolutions, dissolving or liquidating a company or removing its managers), bankruptcy and restructuring matters, and banking, financing, and investment disputes.

One distinguishing feature of the Economic Courts is a dedicated conciliation/settlement body the dispute passes through before or during the case, as an attempt to reach an amicable resolution before the litigation track is fully exhausted.

Not every commercial dispute is resolved through litigation: many commercial contracts, particularly between companies, include an arbitration clause requiring arbitration rather than court proceedings. See Arbitration or Litigation? to understand the difference between the two paths. Determining the right path for any commercial dispute depends on the nature of the dispute and the terms of the relevant contract, if one exists. To discuss a commercial dispute you're facing, you can book a consultation with our team.