Dr Hend Hanafy, Assistant Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty, led the coordination of the first official visit by a delegation from the Egyptian Court of Cassation - the highest court in Egypt - to the judiciary of England and Wales. The delegation, headed by Chief Justice Assem El-Gayish, President of the Court of Cassation and the Supreme Judicial Council (Head of the Egyptian Judiciary), was accompanied throughout by Dr Hanafy. The Court of Cassation described the visit as a "historic" event, "and a precedent in the judicial relations between the two countries", underscoring its significance in initiating judicial dialogue and cooperation between Egypt and the United Kingdom.
The delegation undertook a programme of high level engagements in London, beginning with a visit to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, where they met with Lord Reed, President of the Supreme Court, and Lord Sales, Vice President of the Court. The programme also included a bilateral meeting at the Royal Courts of Justice between the President of the Court of Cassation and Baroness Carr, Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales.
Further meetings were held with Lord Justice Snowden, Lead Judge for International Relations; Lady Justice May, Chair of the Sentencing Council; and Judge David Williams, Director of Training at the Judicial College, providing opportunities to explore differences between the legal systems and to engage in a valuable exchange of expertise and ideas.
The visit culminated in a workshop on sentencing discretion at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, chaired by Dr Hanafy. The workshop opened with welcoming remarks by Professor Louise Gullifer KC (Hon), Chair of the Faculty. The delegation introduced the sentencing framework in the Egyptian legal system and the Court of Cassation’s role in overseeing judges' discretionary powers, and engaged in valuable discussions with leading scholars in criminal law and criminal justice, including Professor Nicola Padfield KC (Hon), Emeritus Professor, University of Cambridge, and Professor Julian Roberts K.C. (Hon), University of Oxford. The workshop concluded with a talk by Dr Hanafy on possible pathways to incorporating sentencing guidelines into the Egyptian judicial system, building on her previous work from the roundtable discussion held in Cairo in December 2025.
The President of the Court of Cassation expressed his appreciation for Dr Hanafy's leadership in coordinating the visit, noting the value of the workshop and the importance of her work for "developing criminal justice policy in a manner that promotes greater transparency, predictability and fairness in sentencing". The President also presented commemorative plaques from the Court of Cassation to the Faculty of Law and Dr Hanafy in appreciation for the academic and judicial collaboration.
This visit forms part of a wider research project led by Dr Hanafy, on sentencing discretion and judicial dialogue between Egypt and England and Wales, with a focus on the prospects for developing sentencing guidelines in the Egyptian legal system for the first time.