Answer ... Arbitral awards can only be subject to challenge or setting aside (ie, annulment of the arbitral award). The Arbitration Law does not allow for arbitral awards to be appealed on the merits. Article 52 explicitly states that the appeal procedures set out in the Civil and Commercial Procedural Law do not apply to arbitral awards. On the other hand, the grounds for challenging or setting aside awards are purely of a legal nature. As such, the Arbitration Law provides for an exhaustive list of grounds on which an arbitral award can be challenged or set aside, as follows:

• There is no arbitration agreement, or the arbitration agreement is void or voidable, or has expired;
• Either party to the arbitration agreement lacked the required capacity to enter into the agreement at the time of its conclusion (pursuant to its own laws governing such capacity);
• Either party to the arbitration was unable to present its case because it was not properly served by the appointment of the arbitrator or by the arbitral procedures, or for any other reason beyond its control;
• The arbitral award obviated the law agreed by the parties to be applied to the merits of their dispute;
• The arbitral tribunal was constituted or the arbitrators were appointed in contradiction with the law or the parties’ agreement;
• The arbitral award ruled on matters falling outside the scope of the arbitration agreement or exceeded the parameters of the agreement; or
• There was a nullity in the arbitral award or the arbitral proceedings that was sufficient to affect the award.

The Arbitration Law further provides that the court may render the arbitral award null on its own initiative if the award contradicts Egyptian public policy. Finally, the Arbitration Law allows for the partial annulment of an arbitral award if the parts held to be null can be separated out from the award and do not affect the same in whole.

Answer ... An arbitral award must be challenged no later than 90 days following the date on which the party is officially served with the arbitral award via court bailiff (Article 54 of the Arbitration Law).

Answer ... As a rule, a party cannot waive or be precluded from exercising its right to challenge the arbitral award prior to the date on which this right is triggered. By and large, the parties are permitted to exclude any rights of challenge only after the arbitral award has been issued and the right to challenge has thus been triggered.