Views
Enforcing Foreign Judgments in Egypt: A Critical Examination of Two Recent Egyptian Supreme Court Cases
I. Introduction
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the MENA region can sometimes be challenging, as it often involves navigating complex legal frameworks (domestic law v. conventions). In addition, case law in this field has encountered difficulties in articulating the applicable guiding principles and is sometimes ambiguous, inconsistent, or even contradictory. Two recent decisions rendered by the Egyptian Supreme Court highlight this issue, alhoutgh – it must be admitted – the Court did provide some welcome clarifications. In any event, the cases reported here highlight some key issues in the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment and offer valuable insights into the evolving landscape of this area of law in Egypt.
Toothless vs. Shark-Teeth: How Anti-Suit Injunctions and Anti-Anti-Suit Orders Collide in the UniCredit Saga
by Faidon Varesis, University of Cambridge
Background
The dispute in the UniCredit v. RusChem saga arose from bonds issued by UniCredit to guarantee performance under contracts for Russian construction projects, where RusChem, after terminating the contracts due to EU sanctions, initiated Russian proceedings for payment in breach of an English-law governed arbitration agreement that mandates resolution in Paris under ICC rules.
UniCredit sought an anti-suit injunction in the UK to stop these Russian proceedings, arguing that the arbitration clause must be enforced under English law. Teare J at first instance held that the English court lacked jurisdiction—finding that the arbitration agreements were governed by French substantive rules and that England was not the appropriate forum—whereas the Court of Appeal reversed this decision by granting a final anti-suit injunction requiring RCA to terminate its Russian proceedings.
CJEU in Albausy on (in)admissibility of questions for a preliminary ruling under Succession Regulation
In a recent ruling, the CJEU adds another layer to the ongoing discussion on which national authorities can submit questions for preliminary rulings under the Succession Regulation, and its nuanced interpretation of what constitutes a ‘court.’
Albausy (Case C-187/23, ECLI:EU:C:2025:34, January 25, 2025) evolves around the question of competence to submit a request for preliminary ruling under the Succession Regulation (Regulation 650/2012 on matters of succession and the creation of a European Certificate of Succession).
Although the CJEU finds that the request in that case is inadmissible, the decision is noteworthy because it confirms the system of the Succession Regulation. Within the regulation, the competence to submit questions for preliminary ruling is reserved for national courts that act as judicial bodies and are seized with a claim over which they have jurisdiction based on Succession Regulation’s rules on jurisdiction.
The opinion of Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona is available here.
News
The Double Face of Private International Law: Reconsidering Its Colonial Entanglements
Originally posted here
Current Research in Private International Law at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg
- Date: Dec 5, 2025
- Time: 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)
- Location: online
About the speaker
Béligh Elbalti is a Professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University. He is the author of numerous academic publications, primarily in the field of private international law, including blog posts on conflictoflaws.net. His research focuses on the development of private international law at both the national and international levels, with particular emphasis on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
About the Topic
In its general discourse, private international law (conflict of laws) is often presented as a discipline grounded in principles such as sovereignty, the equality of states, and comity. Its defining traits are said to flow from this premise of equality between legal orders, including its claim to neutrality, its pursuit of international harmony in cross-border cases, and its role in coordinating diverse legal systems. However, it is striking that private international law developed in an international context marked by domination, inequality, and subordination, a context that challenged the very premises on which the discipline claimed to rest.
Within this broader context, private international law appears to have played a dual role. On the one hand, it served as an instrument of colonial domination, particularly by denying its foundational premises to legal systems not regarded as “civilized”. In these contexts, instead of applying the ordinary methods of private international law, alternative mechanisms were employed to manage foreignness, most notably through systems of extraterritoriality – whether in the form of consular jurisdiction, mixed courts, or foreign courts operating in colonized or semi-colonized territories. On the other hand, private international law also functioned as an instrument for restoring sovereignty and achieving independence. The abolition and dismantling of extraterritorial regimes required colonized and semi-colonized states to meet the substantive and institutional conditions considered necessary for recognition as a “civilized nation”. This included, among other reforms, the establishment of a functioning system of private international law, alongside the adoption of substantive and procedural legal frameworks that guaranteed equal rights and protection for foreigners.
About the Virtual Workshop Series
The virtual workshop series “Current Research in Private International Law” is organised by Ralf Michaels and Philomena Hindermann. The series features guest speakers and Institute staff members who present and discuss their work on current developments and research topics in private international law. The workshops are geared to scholars who are researching in the field of private international law, but attendance is open to all individuals having an academic interest (including doctoral candidates and students).
The virtual lecture will be held as a video conference via Zoom. Please register no later than Thursday, 4 December 2025 using this LINK.
You will receive the login details on Thursday afternoon. If you do not receive an email containing the login data, please check your spam folder as well.
Talk by Yuko Nishitani on Colonialism and Japanese International Family Law (27 Nov, 12pm noon GMT, Zoom)
This Thursday, the University of Augsburg will be hosting a talk
by Yuko Nishitani (University of Kyoto)
on Colonialism and (International) Family Law from a Japanese Perspektive
(Kolonialismus und Familienrecht aus japanischer Sicht)
27 November 2025, 12pm noon GMT
(= 1pm in Germany / 9pm in Japan)
The talk will be given in German, followed by a discussion.
Everyone interested is warmly invited to join via this Zoom link.
International Conference: EU Succession Regulation – A Decade in Application
An international conference focusing on the EU Succession Regulation (“EU Succession Regulation: A Decade in Application”) will take place in Warsaw on December 9, 2025. Hosted by the Institute of Justice in Warsaw, the event will comprehensively assess the first decade of the Regulation’s application, highlighting its impact and future challenges.