British Library funds UCY project to digitalise Egyptian legal documents

The Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Cyprus has secured £27,486 (approximately €32,500) in external funding from the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) of the British Library for the implementation of a new research project with the aim of salvaging and digitising 50 volumes of rare legal documents from the Egyptian Courts dating from 1910 to 1950.

A university press release said the project, titled 'Life Around the Courts: Legal Practices of Ethnic and Religious Pluralism in Egypt,' is led by Dr. Eftychia Mylonas, a postdoctoral researcher (Marie Skłodowska-Curie/Onisilos programme) at the Department of History and Archaeology and the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus.

The Endangered Archives Programme is an international initiative by the British Library that supports the digitization of archives worldwide that are at risk of destruction or neglect.

The 'Life Around the Courts' research project will be carried out from July 2025 to December 2026 under the scientific supervision of Dr. Stefanos Katsikas, Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Cyprus, in international collaboration with the SARD (Shubra’s Archive for Research and Development) in Cairo. Participants in this collaboration include Dr. Mina Ibrahim and Yasmin Tarek from SARD, who will contribute their expertise in digitization and analysis of these historical archives.

The aim of the project is to preserve and digitize 50 volumes of rare legal documents from the Egyptian Courts from the period 1910–1950. Through recording and analysing court cases of ordinary citizens from that era—including many members of Egypt’s Greek community—the project seeks to deepen understanding of Egypt’s social history, as well as to highlight its multiculturalism and multi-religious character, the press release added.

(Source: CNA)