How do international lawyers handle facts? The role of folk sociological theories at the International Criminal Court

Bibliographic Data

ID5609997
AuthorsJulien Seroussi (0000-0003-0190-0118, Génocide, Crime contre l’humanité et Crimes et délits de guerre Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume69
Issue4
Pages962-983
Publication date2018-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-4446.12604
PMID30298922
OpenAlexW2897745888
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited20

The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates international crimes committed in different parts of the world. Earlier scholarly analysis of the work performed by the ICC judges has pointed out that judges often lack cultural and national understanding of the local norms and customs of regions where defendants come from. This article treats this lack of contextual knowledge displayed by the court as a case of structural ignorance rather than an aberration to be 'exposed' or censured. International lawyers indeed must ground their legal narratives with plausible sociological explanations of contextual elements to overcome their lack of familiarity with the field and the scarcity of their investigative resources. By uncovering the role of 'folk sociological theories' (FSTs) in the establishment of facts in a court context, this article addresses the debate over the efficiency of international criminal justice by highlighting the need to bring historical truth back in. The empirical evidence is based on several years of participant observation in the ICC during the trials against Mathieu Ngudjolo and Germain Katanga, two militiamen from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC

Criminal court · Criminology · Epistemology · International law · Political science · Social science · Sociological theory · Sociology · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Philosophy

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