Dawoud & Dawoud
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DAWOUD & DAWOUD LAW FIRM · CAIRO

Disputes are won or lost long before the hearing: in the drafting of the clause, the choice of seat, the handling of notices and the first strategic decisions. Dawoud & Dawoud Law Firm represents international and Egyptian clients in arbitration, mediation and litigation, and helps them avoid disputes where they can. We combine the advocacy of a disputes practice with the commercial understanding of a transactional firm, and we keep the end in view from day one: an outcome that can be enforced against real assets.

For foreign investors and the global law firms who advise them, we are the Egyptian team that knows how the courts, the arbitral institutions and the state counterparties actually work.

Reviewed against Egyptian laws, rules and conventions in force as of October 2026.

Our approach

We choose the forum for the dispute rather than accept the one it happens to fall into. Each mandate starts with the same questions: what does the client need commercially, where are the assets, and which route reaches them fastest and most securely.

Arbitration and litigation

When a dispute must be decided, we build the case for the tribunal or court that will decide it, and for the court that will later be asked to enforce the result.

  • Commercial and investment arbitration under all major institutional rules
  • Proceedings before the Economic Courts, the Cairo Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation
  • Interim relief, attachments and emergency arbitration
  • Annulment, recognition and enforcement of awards and judgments
  • Advocacy in English, Arabic and French

Mediation and dispute avoidance

Many of our best results never reach a tribunal. We help clients prevent disputes, and settle those that arise on terms they can enforce.

  • Dispute resolution clauses that work in Egypt and abroad
  • Multi-tier clauses, dispute boards and expert determination
  • Commercial mediation as counsel and as mediator
  • Structured negotiation with private and state counterparties
  • Settlement agreements drafted for enforcement
  1. Early assessmentMerits, quantum, limitation, evidence and the counterparty’s assets.
  2. Forum and strategyNegotiation, mediation, arbitration or court, chosen for the result needed.
  3. ProceedingsPleadings, evidence, experts and advocacy through to the award or judgment.
  4. EnforcementExequatur, attachment and recovery in Egypt and abroad.

Our dispute resolution practice is led by Managing Partner Shereen Dawoud, who has acted as counsel representing parties in more than 70 arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA, ICDR/AAA, DIAC, CRCICA and GAFTA rules. She is also a listed CRCICA arbitrator since 2018, a CRCICA-accredited mediator and a GAFI-accredited mediator.

Disputes we handle

Each type of dispute has its own forum, evidence and pressure points. These are the areas where our team is most often instructed by international clients.

International commercial arbitration

Institutional and ad hoc arbitration, seated in Cairo or abroad

We act as counsel for claimants and respondents in arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA, ICDR/AAA, DIAC, CRCICA, GAFTA and UNCITRAL rules, and our Managing Partner is also a listed CRCICA arbitrator. Egypt’s Arbitration Law is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law, and Cairo has long been the region’s most established seat. We advise international parties on what makes an award safe from annulment in Egypt and enforceable wherever the assets are.

How we act

  1. Early case assessment, merits and quantum, and choice of procedural strategy
  2. Drafting requests for arbitration, statements of claim and defence
  3. Constitution of the tribunal and arbitrator challenges
  4. Emergency arbitrator and interim measures applications
  5. Document production, witness and expert evidence, and hearing advocacy in English, Arabic and French
  6. Annulment proceedings before the Cairo Court of Appeal and enforcement of the award

Investment and investor–state disputes

Treaty claims, investment contracts and state counterparties

Disputes with the state call for a combination of public law, treaty law and an understanding of how Egyptian ministries and authorities make decisions. We advise foreign investors on the domestic settlement mechanisms available under the Investment Law, on protections under bilateral investment treaties, and on ICSID and UNCITRAL proceedings, choosing at each stage whether negotiation, the ministerial committees or arbitration best protects the investment.

How we act

  1. Mapping treaty protection, nationality planning and notice requirements
  2. Grievances and applications to the Investment Law dispute settlement committees
  3. Negotiation with ministries, authorities and state-owned companies
  4. Approval of the competent minister for arbitration of administrative contracts
  5. ICSID and UNCITRAL treaty arbitration, in coordination with co-counsel

Construction, infrastructure and energy disputes

Projects, EPC and FIDIC contracts, concessions and energy assets

Large projects generate disputes over delay, variations, unforeseen conditions and payment, often with a state employer on the other side. We handle FIDIC and bespoke EPC disputes, dispute board referrals and arbitrations arising from power, renewables, oil and gas and real estate developments, including concession and offtake arrangements and farm-out agreements. For acquisitions of these assets, see our energy due diligence.

How we act

  1. Contemporaneous claims management and notice compliance
  2. Delay, disruption and quantum analysis with independent experts
  3. Dispute board (DAAB) referrals and amicable settlement stages
  4. Arbitration and court proceedings against private and state employers
  5. Decennial liability and defects claims

Corporate, shareholder and post-M&A disputes

Joint ventures, deadlock, warranty and earn-out claims

Shareholder disputes in Egypt often turn on the interaction between the shareholders’ agreement, the company’s articles and mandatory company law. We act in joint venture deadlocks, minority oppression and exit disputes, and in warranty, indemnity, price adjustment and earn-out claims after an acquisition, drawing on our transactional and due diligence practice to read the deal documents as the parties intended.

How we act

  1. Assessing enforceability of shareholders’ agreements against the articles
  2. Interim protection of shares, management and assets
  3. Warranty, indemnity and completion-accounts claims
  4. Proceedings before the Economic Courts and GAFI committees
  5. Negotiated exits and buy-outs

Banking, finance and FinTech disputes

Lenders, borrowers, payment providers and digital platforms

We act for and against banks, finance companies and payment and FinTech operators in disputes over facilities, security, guarantees and digital transactions. Our regulatory practice before the Central Bank of Egypt and the Financial Regulatory Authority, also reflected in our FinTech due diligence, means we understand the rules that shape each party’s position, and we pursue recovery through the Economic Courts, enforcement and garnishment proceedings.

How we act

  1. Facility, guarantee and security enforcement
  2. Garnishment and attachment of bank accounts and assets
  3. Disputes over electronic payments, e-signatures and digital onboarding
  4. Regulatory complaints and engagement with the CBE and FRA
  5. Restructuring negotiations alongside enforcement

Employment disputes

Senior executives, collective matters and disciplinary actions

The new Labour Law changed both substance and procedure, introducing specialised labour courts and a revised framework for settling employment disputes. We advise employers, including foreign-owned companies, on terminations, executive departures and restrictive covenants, and represent them before the labour courts and in settlement negotiations.

How we act

  1. Pre-termination risk assessment and procedure
  2. Settlement, waiver and discontinuance agreements
  3. Representation before the specialised labour courts
  4. Executive disputes, non-competes and confidentiality claims
  5. Collective disputes and engagement with the labour authorities

Court litigation and enforcement

Egyptian courts, foreign judgments and award enforcement

Where a dispute belongs in court, or where an award or judgment must be turned into money, we act before the Economic Courts, the civil and commercial courts, the Cairo Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. We obtain exequatur for foreign arbitral awards, seek recognition of foreign judgments, and trace and attach assets in Egypt.

How we act

  1. Exequatur of domestic and foreign arbitral awards
  2. Recognition of foreign court judgments, including reciprocity analysis
  3. Precautionary attachments and garnishment
  4. Appeals and cassation proceedings
  5. Asset tracing in coordination with foreign counsel

Mediation and dispute avoidance

The cheapest dispute is the one that never starts, and the next cheapest is the one settled early on enforceable terms. We help clients reach both outcomes.

Commercial mediation

We act as counsel in mediation, and our Managing Partner is a CRCICA- and GAFI-accredited mediator. We prepare clients to negotiate from a clear assessment of their position, and we draft settlements that can be enforced.

  • Mediation under the CRCICA Mediation Rules and other institutional rules
  • Ad hoc mediation in shareholder, distribution, construction and employment disputes
  • Settlement opportunities before the Economic Courts’ preparatory panels
  • Mediation within Investment Law amicable settlement procedures
  • Settlement agreements structured for an enforcement route, including the Singapore Convention, which Egypt signed on 13 January 2026

Dispute avoidance

We bring a litigator’s eye to transactions and projects, so that the contract anticipates the dispute and the client keeps the strongest position if one arises.

  • Choice of governing law, seat and institutional rules
  • Multi-tier escalation, expert determination and dispute boards
  • Waivers of immunity and enforcement provisions with state parties
  • Notice, claims and record-keeping protocols for projects
  • Pre-dispute health checks on portfolios of contracts
  • Early intervention and without-prejudice negotiation

Cross-border disputes

Our team works across the Egyptian, English and Welsh, Paris and New York bars, with affiliated offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the USA, the UK and Poland.

Disputes with an Egyptian dimension

For international parties with a counterparty, a project or assets in Egypt, we advise on Egyptian law issues in foreign proceedings, act as Egyptian counsel alongside international firms, and enforce awards and judgments against Egyptian assets.

Regional and multi-jurisdiction disputes

For disputes spanning Egypt, the Gulf, the UK and the USA, we coordinate parallel proceedings, conflict-of-laws questions and sanctions issues, so that a win in one forum translates into recovery in another. Disputes arising from acquisitions are handled together with our due diligence and M&A practice.

Recent developments in Egyptian dispute resolution

CRCICA Rules 2024
The CRCICA Arbitration Rules 2024 apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 15 January 2024. They add consolidation, claims under multiple contracts, early dismissal of claims, disclosure of third-party funding, emergency arbitrator and expedited arbitration rules, online filing and remote hearings, and provide that the law of the seat governs the arbitration agreement unless the parties agree otherwise.
Arbitration Law reform
Proposed amendments to Law No. 27 of 1994 would clarify the definition of international arbitration, give the Cairo Court of Appeal exclusive jurisdiction over arbitration-related matters and shorten the time limit for annulment actions. The Senate began debating them in May 2025. The amendments had not been enacted as of October 2026.
Singapore Convention
Egypt signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation on 13 January 2026, a significant signal of support for international commercial mediation.
Employment disputes
The new Labour Law No. 14 of 2025 came into force on 1 September 2025, with specialised labour courts operating from 1 October 2025 and a revised framework for the settlement of labour disputes.
Sports disputes
Law No. 171 of 2025 amended the Sports Law No. 71 of 2017, including provisions on sports arbitration in Egypt.

Frequently asked questions

Is Egypt a party to the New York Convention?

Yes. Egypt has been a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards since 1959, and Egyptian courts enforce foreign awards under it.

Can I arbitrate a dispute with an Egyptian government entity?

Yes, but for administrative contracts the arbitration agreement must be approved by the competent minister, or the official with equivalent authority for public juridical persons, under Article 1 of the Arbitration Law as amended by Law No. 9 of 1997. Without that approval the agreement can be challenged.

How long do I have to challenge an arbitral award in Egypt?

An action to annul an award made in Egypt must be brought within 90 days of notification of the award to the party challenging it, under Article 54 of the Arbitration Law. Enforcement cannot be sought until that period has expired.

Is there a cap on interest in Egyptian-seated arbitration?

Egyptian courts have treated the 7% annual cap on agreed interest under Article 227 of the Civil Code as a matter of public policy, so interest provisions should be structured with this in mind. Where no rate is agreed, the statutory rate is 5% in commercial matters.

Has Egypt joined the Singapore Convention on Mediation?

Egypt signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 13 January 2026. Its practical effect for enforcing international mediated settlements in Egypt depends on ratification and entry into force for Egypt, so settlements should be structured with an enforcement route in mind.

Is Egypt changing its Arbitration Law?

Amendments have been proposed, including clarifying what counts as international arbitration, centralising court jurisdiction in the Cairo Court of Appeal and shortening the time limit to annul an award. The Senate began debating them in May 2025. As of October 2026 Law No. 27 of 1994 remains in force, and we track the reform for clients.

Do you act alongside international law firms?

Yes. We regularly act as Egyptian counsel to international firms, advising on Egyptian law issues, appearing before Egyptian courts and coordinating enforcement, and working in Arabic, English and French.

This page provides general information on Egyptian law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change, and specific advice should be obtained for each matter.

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