LEGISLATION WATCH- House mulls legislation that could make it easier to clear Egypt’s arbitration backlog: The House of Representatives’ Legislative Committee is reviewing a law that could help fast-track the resolution of investor disputes that center on state-owned companies where the Administrative Court has tried to reverse privatizations ales. The law would allow the Prime Minister to refer these cases to the Investment Ministry’s investors disputes resolution committees to negotiate settlements. The law would also shield the Public Enterprises Minister from the legal ramifications of not enforcing the Administrative Court’s ruling, committee member Medhat Sherif tells Al Mal.

Background: The state sold shares in seven companies, including Nile Cotton Ginning and Omar Effendi, only to have the Administrative Court issue a ruling in 2011 invalidating the share sales. The decision drew Egypt into legal entanglements and international arbitration cases that are still ongoing. The law is meant to settle the cases with these seven companies, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik said. We’ve been seeing reports as recently as this month that Nile Cotton and Ginning’s foreign investors were about to proceed with arbitration suits.