Donation Contract

The Legislator defines the Donation in the Egyptian Civil Law as, a donation to others without money or with money for the benefit of others, and is a contract according to which the donor disposes of his property without consideration and the donor may, and the donor may impose on the donee to perform a specific obligation.

Article no. 486 of the Egyptian Civil Law No. 131 of 1948 defines the Donation contract as:

A Donation is a contract where the donor disposes his ownership without any consideration, and from this definition, we conclude that the Donation Contract has three factors, as follows:

1. The Donation is a contract between the living “Inter-vivos”: The Donation Contract shall be by the offer and acceptance of both parties and shall not be by unilateral acceptance, this is what distinguishes it from a will.
2. Accordingly, to it the donor disposes his ownership: A donation is an act of disposal, according to which the donor shall transfer his ownership without compensation, the donor disposes his ownership without indemnity.
3. Willing to Donate: The donation shall not be made only by transfer without compensation, it must be made by a will of donation by the donor., Therefore, the donation shall be made by the donor’s intention and willingness to give the donation without intending to fulfill a natural obligation or aiming to reward a good deed or to gain a material or moral benefit.

Donation conditions

From the conditions for concluding the donation are mutual consent, the scope, the reason, and it shall be written in an official document, and the validity conditions, are:

• Capacity.
• It must not be impaired by any of the defects of consent.
• If the donation was in regard to a real estate, the donation shall be according to an official document.
• If the donation was in regard to a movable property, the donation can be concluded either by an official document or by receipt without the need for an official document.

Donation types

Article No. 488 of the Egyptian Civil Law subject that the donation shall be considered as a formal contract and this contract shall be written in an official document:

“The donation shall be written in an official document, otherwise it will be deemed invalid unless it is written in another contract. Notwithstanding, the donation in the movables can be made by receiving and not written in an official document.”

Donation contracts in the Egyptian Law

The Donation contract can be a direct explicit contract, and it can be an indirect or implicit contract, and the direct donation contract shall be according to the conditions stipulated in the Law, as for the indirect donation it does not need to fulfill such form, it shall be under the umbrella of another contract.

What is the difference between the donation and waive?

The Waive Contract is considered as a contract without compensation, and it is an agreement between both parties, first party as a seller and the second party is a buyer, and it must be agreed between the parties that this agreement is concluded without any compensation and without any obligations on both parties, whether before or after the delivery.

As for the Donation Contract it can be without or with compensation, however, for the validity of the donation contract, the conditions of the donation contract are required.

Revocation of Donation

As per article No. 500 of the Egyptian Civil Law, the Donor can revoke the donation if such matter is agreed upon with the Donee or if the donor revocation is based on an excuse accepted by the judge unless there is an impediment to revocation of the donation. Therefore, revoking the donation can be done through two ways: either by mutual consent between the Donor and the Donee voluntarily, or through litigation.

Article No. 501 of the Egyptian Civil Law states that the donation can be revoked in the following cases:

• If the Donee breaches his obligation towards the Donor, or to one of his relatives, to the extent that this breach constitutes major injustice from his part.
• The Donor becomes unable to provide himself with the means of living in accordance with his social status, or that he becomes unable to fulfill what the law imposes on him in terms of expenditure on others.
• That the donor is blessed with a son after the donation who will remain alive until the time of revocation, or that the donor has a son whom he thought was dead at the time of the donation, but he is alive.

The judge can rule to revoke the donation unless there is one of the impediments to revoking the donation, which is stipulated in Article 502 of the Egyptian Civil Law. If one of them is fulfilled, the request to revoke the donation will be rejected.

It stipulates that: The request to revoke the donation is rejected if one of the following impediments is found:

1. If a continuous, positive increase is applied to the value of the donated object, and if the impediment is removed, the right of revocation is restored.
2. If one of the parties to the donation contract dies.
3. If the donee disposes of the donated thing permanently. If the disposition is limited to a part of the donated object, the donor may have the right to take back the remainder.
4. If the donation was from one spouse to the other, even if the donor wishes to return it after the end of the marriage.
5. If the donated object is perished in the hands of the donee, whether the perishment. was due to his own action or by an external incident beyond his control or due to usage. If only a part of the object is perished, it is permissible to recover the remainder.
6. If the donee offers indemnification for the donation.
7. If the donation is a charity or an act of righteousness.