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Sunday, 15 January 2023

Are you a party to the contract? No? Then you can’t sue.

The Supreme Constitutional Court has upheld the Appeals Against State Contracts Act, rejecting a case that sought to have the act thrown out as unconstitutional, according to Al Shorouk.

About the Act: The Appeals Against State Contracts Act prohibits third-party lawsuits against individual contracts with the state. That means that only those parties involved in a state contract can bring a lawsuit regarding it — unless parties to a contract have been convicted of a financial crime.

Background: Signed into law by former interim president Adly Mansour in 2014, the bill was part of a post-revolution push to limit the ability of Islamist, Nasserist and other publicity-seeking lawyers to insert themselves into state contracts (and to sue cabinet members and public servants), arguing that they were doing so in the public interest.

What were the Supremes ruling on? The Administrative Court had asked the Supreme Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of the act as part of a years-old case brought by employees of the Nubaria Seed Production Company (NUBASEED) against the government's decision to privatize the company.

Good news for the privatization program? The law was designed to boost investor confidence and streamline asset sales. Its being declared constitutional will provide additional comfort to investors as the state relaunches its privatization program, which aims to attract USD 40 bn in private investment by 2026 through public share offerings, stake sales to strategic investors, and expanding public-private partnerships.

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