When Does a Business Partnership Become a Breach of Trust? Egypt’s Cassation Court Clarifies

Egypt’s Court of Cassation has established a legal principle distinguishing a commercial or civil relationship between two parties from circumstances that meet the elements of criminal breach of trust.

The distinction addresses a central question in business disputes: whether the relationship between the parties is enough to establish criminal liability, or whether the elements of the alleged offence must be shown.

The principle makes clear that the mere existence of a commercial or civil relationship is not, by itself, equivalent to a breach-of-trust offence. Establishing the crime requires a separate assessment of whether its constituent elements are present.

For business partners, the significance lies in separating a dispute arising from their dealings from conduct that may give rise to criminal responsibility. The commercial nature of a relationship alone does not resolve that question.

The available summary did not provide the facts of the underlying case, the court’s detailed reasoning or the outcome for the parties involved.