Cultural Expertise and Socio-Legal Studies

Austin Sarat is WilliamNelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at AmherstCollege, USA. He is also a Five College Fortieth Anniversary Professor. He haswritten, co-written, or edited more than fifty books in the fields of law andpolitical science.

• Introduction; Livia HoldenPart I. Cultural Expertise with(out) Cultural ExpertsFrom Invisible to Visible: Locating Cultural Expertise in the Law Courts of Two Finnish Cities; Taina CookeCultural Expertise in Italian Courts: Contexts, Cases and Issues; Antonello Ciccozzi and Giorgia DecarliPart II. Sites of Cultural ExpertiseAssessing Cultural Expertise in Portugal: Challenges and Opportunities; João Teixeira Lopes, Anabela Leão and Ligia FerroCultural Expertise in Asylum Granting Procedure in Greece: Evaluating the Experiences and the Prospects; Helen RethimiotakiPart III. Comparative Perspectives on Cultural ExpertiseCourt Cases, Cultural Expertise, and FGM in Europe; Ruth Mestre and Sara JohnsdotterBetween Norms, Facts and Stereotypes: The Place of Culture and Ethnicity in Belgian and French Family Justice; Caroline Simon, Barbara Truffin and Anne WyvekensPart IV. Cultural Expertise in Non-European ContextsCultural Expertise in Australia: Colonial Laws, Customs, and Emergent Legal Pluralism; Ann BlackThe Role and Use of Cultural Expertise in Litigation in South Africa. Can the Western World Learn Anything from a Mixed, Pluralistic Legal System? Christa RautenbachPart V. Suggestions for a Way ForwardBeyond Cultural Expert Witnessing: Toward an Integrated Definition of Cultural Expertise; Livia Holden

The research project "Cultural Expertise in Europe: What is it Useful For?" held its first conference in Oxford during December 2016. Scholars specializing in law and culture in civil and common law traditions both inside and outside Europe present nine papers on cultural expertise with(out) cultural experts, sites of cultural expertise, comparative perspectives on cultural expertise, cultural expertise in non-European contexts, and suggestions for a way forward. Their topics include from invisible to visible: locating cultural expertise in the law courts of two Finnish cities; assessing cultural expertise in Portugal: challenges and opportunities; between norms, facts, and stereotypes: the place of culture and ethnicity in Belgian and French family justice; cultural expertise in Australia: colonial laws, customs, and emergent legal pluralism; and beyond anthropological expert witnessing: toward an integrated definition of cultural expertise.