1st Edition
Anthropological Expertise and Legal Practice In Conversation
This book draws on concrete cases of collaboration between anthropologists and legal practitioners to critically assess the use of anthropological expertise in a variety of legal contexts from the point of view of the anthropologist as well as of the decision-maker or legal practitioner. The contributions, several of which are co-authored by anthropologist–legal practitioner tandems, deal with the roles of and relationships between anthropologists and legal professionals, which are often collaborative, interdisciplinary, and complementary. Such interactions go far beyond courts and litigation into areas of law that might be called ‘social justice activism’. They also entail close collaboration with the people –often subjects of violence and dispossession –with whom the anthropologists and legal practitioners are working. The aim of this collection is to draw on past experiences to come up with practical methodological suggestions for facilitating this interaction and collaboration and for enhancing the efficacy of the use of anthropological expertise in legal contexts. Explicitly designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and between scholarship and practical application, the book will appeal to scholars and researchers engaged in anthropology, legal anthropology, socio-legal studies, and asylum and migration law. It will also be of interest to legal practitioners and applied social scientists, who can glean valuable lessons regarding the challenges and rewards of genuine collaboration between legal practitioners and social scientists.
Preface and Acknowledgements vii
Contributors ix
Legal Practitioners and Anthropologists in Dialogue: Returning to the Spirit of Complementarity and Collaboration 1
BRIAN DONAHOE, MARIE-CLAIRE FOBLETS, AND MARIA SAPIGNOLI
PART I
Anthropologists and Lawyers in Conversation: Case Studies 21
1 Collection and Use of Country of Origin Information in the United Kingdom’s Refugee Status Determination Process: The Case of Sri Lanka 23
ANTHONY PATERSON AND ANTHONY GOOD
2 Depositions and Dilemmas: Anthropological Collaboration with Lawyers on Indigenous Legal Cases in Botswana 50
GORDON BENNETT AND ROBERT K HITCHCOCK
3 Using and Refusing Indigenous Rights Law in Southern Chile 75
CHARLES HALE AND JOSE AYLWIN
4 Evolving Roles of the Cultural Expert: Anthrolegal Praxis, Friction, and the Pursuit of Justice in the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal Proceedings 91
BARBARA ROSE JOHNSTON
PART II
Reflections on the Use of Expertise 121
5 Contributions of Ethnography of Science to Judicial Assessment of Environmental Expert Testimony: Case Study from Risk Assessment in the Marine Environment 123
MELANIE WIBER, DONNA CURTIS MAILLET, AND ALLAIN BARNETT
6 The Predicament of Expertise in the Revival of Indigenous Legal Traditions 136
RONALD NIEZEN
7 Observations from Working as a Legal Anthropologist in the Customary Law Ascertainment Project of Namibia 143
MANFRED HINZ
8 Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Asylum Cases: Impressions from Legal-Anthropological Collaboration 153
KATIA BIANCHINI AND SOPHIE ANDREETTA
9 The Ignorance of an Expert Witness 164
ANNIKA RABO
10 Reflections on Anthropological ‘Expert’ Reports in UK Legal Asylum Cases 177
DEEMA KANEFF
11 Culture as a ‘Matter of Fact’?: Reflections on a First-time ‘Cultural Defence’ in Court 190
HARIKA DAUTH
12 Beyond Case-by-Case Cultural Expertise 207
ILENIA RUGGIU
Index 217
Biography
Marie-Claire Foblets is Director of the Department of Law & Anthropology at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany and Honorary Professor at the universities of Leuven (Belgium), Halle (Germany), and Leipzig (Germany).
Maria Sapignoli is Associate Professor of Social Anthropology in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Milan (Italy) and Cooperation Partner in the Law & Anthropology Department, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany.
Brian Donahoe is Senior Scientific Editor of the Law & Anthropology Department, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany.
