Aims and objectives
This collection of court cases consists of rare copies of 50 volumes of legal documents that came from the Native Egyptian National Court, which was established in 1883, following the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. The collection in question contains local court cases from courts that no longer exist, such as the Native court, and the religious Shari’a courts that cover the legal and judicial life under the British protectorate of Egypt (1914-22), the period of the continued British occupation (1922-36), and the period of the independent monarchy (1936-52), prior to the establishment of the Egyptian Republic (1953). The collection is a unique source of information, as it narrates the local and public history of Egyptian society through ordinary people’s legal cases.
All the volumes have been collected from street booksellers and hawkers over the past three years. The volumes, which consist of paper copies, are being kept in wooden shelves at Shubra’s Archive, with no precautions taken for humidity or temperature variations. This project will not only safeguard a crucial part of Egypt’s legal history but also support Shubra’s Archive's ongoing mission to empower marginalised communities by enhancing a deeper connection to their collective past, promoting public dialogue, and offering an avenue for broader historical reflection.
