- 41 « 13 » Legislation concerning Stock and Commodity Exchanges Laws were enacted in 1910 for the business of stock and commodity exchanges, which remained under consideration for years. These laws distinguished contracts based on specific conditions, and it was the intention of the contracting parties that these contracts would only lead to the payment of "differences."

The International Commission drafted amendments to the Mixed Commercial Code, which require the approval of the states to take effect, as well as the draft of general laws concerning exchanges. This was done after considering the opinions of the delegates. The draft of these general laws was then sent to the delegates and bankers in Egypt and Alexandria for their opinions. It became apparent that there was a significant divergence of ideas among businessmen and industrialists, and various objections were raised to the conditions of the International Commission's draft, which were not without severity.

The government's aim in all the subsequent long discussions was to guarantee the public involved in exchange business the necessary protection of their interests, while reconciling the interests of the various differing elements involved, as much as the opinions of the International Commission allowed.

Finally, a text was agreed upon, which was, by necessity, a form of compromise. It became evident that the choice might prove to require modification.

When it was put into practice, objections were raised in England, or on behalf of English companies, to two specific points: (1) the clause prohibiting forward dealings in shares of companies whose nominal value is less than one hundred francs, and (2) the clause limiting forward contracts to a single account. The first clause had prevented forward dealings in the shares of many English companies, while the second clause, it is said, prevented the operation of "profits."

Regarding the first point, the International Commission included it on the grounds that the Commercial Code prohibits Egyptian companies from issuing shares with a nominal value less than one hundred francs. Therefore, allowing foreign shares with a lower value would be an unfair discrimination against non-Egyptian companies. The British delegate to the International Commission objected to this, but the Commission did not agree with his objection, based on the reasons mentioned above.