Egypt

Allocation of child according to the Egyptian law

Egypt, likewise most of the Arab countries is not a party to the 1980 Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction as well as the 1996 Hague convention on parental responsibility and protection of children.

Egyptian family law is taken from Islamic law, which means that in the absence of a law text, judges resort to Islamic jurisprudence to get the solution for the dispute.

We will explain what that means in this context.

Country Reporter:

Mohamed Hassanein

Mohamed is a partner at ElAttar Law Firm in Cairo. He is specialized in all family disputes connected with Sharia law and /or Egyptian law.

He is very active in the field of cutody, relocation and abduction, also by publishing papers and participating in international conferences.

Mohamed has volunteered to keep this page about Egypt up to date.

Lawyers and mediators in Egypt

We provide a list of lawyers and mediators in Egypt, who can assist you in drafting an international parenting plan, in preventing conflicts over the primary residence of the children, and in negotiating and litigating over the children in the event of relocation or child abduction.

Find a lawyer or mediator

Parental authority: Egypt

Parental Authority ( In case of marriage):

In case of marriage relationship is still, the parental responsibility is shared between both the father and the mother. In case of dispute regarding to an issue connected with the child like traveling with the child or type of education or financial issues, the father’s decision shall prevail due to the right of Quama, which means the authority of the father over the family.

Parental Authority (In case of divorce):

In case of divorce, the custody of children is for the mother on condition that:

1- She is not married to a non- relative to the children, if she is married to a relative of children she still can save her custodian rights.

2- She is a Muslim (in case of Coptic or Jewish there’s some dispute), but in case of apostasy, she cannot save her custodian rights.

3- She does not suffer from any mental or psychic disease, this also includes drug addiction.

4- She has not been accused of any charges related to honour ( adultery, prostitution, drug trafficking…etc.)

If a mother loses custody due to any of the above mentioned or she opts to conciliate the custody right, custody of children shall be- as follows- for; the mother of the mother, the mother of the father, kin sisters of the child, …..(16 relative women).. if there’s no female custodian, or if they refused to take the custody, the father of the child shall be the custodian of his children. (Art 20 of law n. 100/1985 on family law)

A child has no choice regarding to his/her custodian until he/she becomes 15, when he/she becomes 15, he/ she shall have a capacity to choose his custodian before court (Art.2 of law n. 1/2000 on family law procedures).

According to articles 65 and 66 of law n. 1/2000 on family law procedures, judgements related to the delivery of a child to his/ her custody shall be materially enforced.

Traveling with children: Egypt

Travelling with children: Egypt

In case of marriage, a mother cannot travel with her children out of Egypt unless she has a formal permission from the father. But for the father, he can travel with his children anywhere without any obstacle.

In case of divorce, a mother cannot travel with children unless she obtains a formal permission from the father of children otherwise she will be prevented from travelling with children in the airport. It’s widely known (specially in case of foreign wives) that a father asks for a ban of travelling to his children and notifies airport authorities of it so that a mother cannot escape / travel with children out of the country.

A father of children –mainly- can travel with children out of Egypt unless the mother asks for a ban of travelling and notifies airport authorities and this will be under the discretion of the court ( Case n. 37/69 on 29/11/1999)

The aforementioned rules is not only for Muslim spouses but also for Coptic spouses ( Art. 125, 137 & 160 of Orthodox Copts decree)

It is understood that there is a right for a father or a mother to see and visit his/her children, and the issue of getting children out of the country by one of the parties shall deprive the other party from his/her rights of visitation, hosting and seeing. ( Case n. 9815/128 on 08/05/2012)

I believe that due to the booming technology, courts can change their trends regarding to the banning of travelling with children especially if the travelling party can assure that he/she will allow for video communication as well as proving that travelling with children is for their own interest.

The same rules apply for allocation of children except in case of a mother who wants to move with her children to her country of origin on condition that:

1- Marriage bond should have been held there, a court can allow her to move back to her country of origin with children.

2- The court assures that children shall not be forced directly or indirectly to change their Muslim religion.

3- The court assures that the country of origin guarantees freedom of belief and practice of religion.

Child relocation: Egypt

There is no specific information on the relocation of children in Egypt

Generaly speaking, it is advisable in all cases regarding to children, that a mother or a father would try to make a formal agreement on handling children’s’ issues or resort to mediation. In case of litigation, they should look for a clever local attorney who is totally aware of the whole situation, has a wide look at it and can collect data regarding to the location of children and of the abductive party as well as having the ability to starve for the enforcement of court judgements.

Child abduction: Egypt

Hague Convention

Egypt is not a party to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction.

Government

Because Egypt is not a member to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, there is no Central Authority, as meant in the Hague Convention, to contact if your child has been abducted to Egypt.

Court procedure

Because Egypt is not a member to the Hague Convention onChild Abduction, there is no specific procedure about child abduction, as meant in the Hague Convention.

Child participation

In general, in court proceedings in Egypt, there is only a small role for the child.

Mediation

Mediation is a possibility in family court in Egypt.

Prevention

There is no specific information available about the prevention of child abudction in Egypt.

Legal aid

In Egypt there is a possiblity to aply for subsidized legal aid in family proceedings.

Criminal law : Egypt

Criminal law

Parental child abduction is a criminal offence in Egypt if a parent or grandparent who removes a child from the person who is entitled to custody according to an Egyptian judicial decision.