CISG-APPLICABILITY BEFORE NATIONAL JUDICIARY IN EGYPT, BAHRAIN, QATAR AND JORDAN
1. Introduction. – 2. Methodology. – 3. CISG-Applicability in Arab States. – 4. Treatment of Applicable Foreign Law by National Judiciary: In General. – 4.1. Foreign Law is a Fact. – 4.2. Foreign Law is a Matter of Law. – 5. Treatment of the CISG by National Judiciary: In Particular. – 5.1. Treatment of the CISG by Courts in Arab Contracting States (Egypt and Bahrain). – 5.1.1. The Court ex Officio Applies the CISG. – 5.1.2. The Court Shall Respect the Special Nature of the CISG. – 5.2. Treatment of the CISG by Courts in Arab NonContracting States (Qatar and Jordan). – 6. Conclusions.
Background: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (the CISG or the Convention) may apply autonomously in Arab Contracting States, such as Egypt and Bahrain. The CISG may also be applied indirectly, i.e., by virtue of the rules of private international law, whether in Arab Contracting or non-Contracting States (e.g., Qatar and Jordan). This paper discusses both situations of the CISG application in Arab states at issue as well as how Arab courts address foreign law, including the CISG.
Methods:
A desk research methodology, as well as legal analysis and comparison, is adopted to answer the research questions. The author scrutinises a range of documents varying from national and international legal texts to academic writings and court rulings. The author analyses the two approaches prevailing in Arab academic writings and court rulings regarding the application of the designated foreign law (including the CISG), i.e. whether as a fact or as a (foreign) law. The author also compares these two approaches to show the advantages and disadvantages of each one to define which of them better serves justice and the parties’ interests.
Results and Conclusions:
The author concludes that the legislature in all Arab jurisdictions at issue, as well as the judicature in Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar, should rethink their approach to handling foreign law. In particular, the CISG should be dealt with as a matter of law, not as a matter of fact. Courts should apply the Convention and establish its content ex officio.
Abstract
Background: The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (the CISG or the Convention) may apply autonomously in Arab Contracting States, such as Egypt and Bahrain. The CISG may also be applied indirectly, i.e., by virtue of the rules of private international law, whether in Arab Contracting or non-Contracting States (e.g., Qatar and Jordan). This paper discusses both situations of the CISG application in Arab states at issue as well as how Arab courts address foreign law, including the CISG.
Methods:
A desk research methodology, as well as legal analysis and comparison, is adopted to answer the research questions. The author scrutinises a range of documents varying from national and international legal texts to academic writings and court rulings. The author analyses the two approaches prevailing in Arab academic writings and court rulings regarding the application of the designated foreign law (including the CISG), i.e. whether as a fact or as a (foreign) law. The author also compares these two approaches to show the advantages and disadvantages of each one to define which of them better serves justice and the parties’ interests.
Results and Conclusions:
The author concludes that the legislature in all Arab jurisdictions at issue, as well as the judicature in Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar, should rethink their approach to handling foreign law. In particular, the CISG should be dealt with as a matter of law, not as a matter of fact. Courts should apply the Convention and establish its content ex officio.
About Authors
Ph.D. (Law), Full Professor, Qatar University, Qatar
amin.dawwas@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-8711
Corresponding author, responsible for conceptualization, methodology, data curation, resources, investigation, formal analysis and writing – original draft.
Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Disclaimer: The author declare that his opinion and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations.
Copyright: © 2025 Amin Dawwas. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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АНОТАЦІЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ
Дослідницька стаття
ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ CISG В НАЦІОНАЛЬНИХСУДОВИХ ОРГАНАХ ЄГИПТУ, БАХРЕЙНУ, КАТАРУ ТА ЙОРДАНІЇ
Амін Давас
АНОТАЦІЯ
Вступ.
Конвенція ООН про договори міжнародної купівлі-продажу товарів (CISG або Конвенція) може застосовуватися автономно в арабських договірних державах, таких як Єгипет і Бахрейн. CISG також може застосовуватися опосередковано, тобто з огляду на норми міжнародного приватного права, як в арабських договірних державах, так і в тих, що не є договірними (наприклад, Катар і Йорданія). У цій статті обговорюються обидві ситуації застосування Конвенції в арабських державах, а також те, як арабські суди розглядають іноземне законодавство, зокрема CISG.
Методи.
Для того, щоб досягти мети дослідження, було використано методологію кабінетного дослідження, а також юридичний аналіз і порівняння. Автор ретельно вивчає низку документів, починаючи від національних і міжнародних юридичних текстів до наукових праць і судових рішень. Аналізує два підходи, які переважають в арабських наукових працях і судових рішеннях щодо застосування зазначеного іноземного права (зокрема CISG), тобто як факту чи як (іноземного) права. Автор також порівнює ці два підходи, щоб показати переваги та недоліки кожного з них, щоб визначити, який із них більше сприяє здійсненню правосуддя та відповідає інтересам сторін
Результати та висновки.
Автор робить висновок, що законодавча влада в усіх зазначених арабських юрисдикціях, а також судова влада в Єгипті, Бахрейні та Катарі повинні переглянути свій підхід до розгляду іноземного права. Зокрема, CISG слід розглядати як предмет права, а не як факт. Суди повинні застосовувати Конвенцію та встановлювати її зміст ex officio.
Ключові слова: CISG, арабське право, колізійні норми, автономія волі сторін, купівляпродаж товарів.
Publication history
-
Date of submission: 17 Apr 2024
Date of acceptance: 03 Sep 2024
Online First publication: 10 Jan 2025
Last Publication: 17 Aug 2025
Whether the manuscript was fast tracked? - No
Number of reviewer report submitted in first round: 3 reports
Number of revision rounds: 1 round, revised version submitted 26 May 2024
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Plagiarism checks - Turnitin from iThenticate https://www.turnitin.com/products/ithenticate/
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How to cite it?
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Dawwas A, ‘CISG-Applicability before National Judiciary in Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan’ (2025) 8(3) Access to Justice in Eastern Europe 327-61 <https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-8.1-a000110>
Managing editor – Mag. Olha Dunaievska. English Editor – Julie Bold.
Ukrainian language editor: Lilia Hartman.
