Engaging with court research: The case of French terror trials

Abstract

Transnational legal research often tends to overlook the local management of justice. It often moves too quickly from the local to the trans/global level, without taking the necessary time to investigate local practices. In addressing this research gap, my aim is to “re-localize“ studies within their geographical context and analyze the trans/national dynamics from within, using a bottom-up approach based on ethnography. This article presents a prolonged ethnography carried between 2017 and 2022 within French terrorism courts by a multidisciplinary team. The article provides an overview of the methodology, highlights the key finding, and offers a methodological framework for future empirical court studies, with the intention of supporting researchers in their future studies. La investigación jurídica transnacional a menudo tiende a pasar por alto la gestión local de la justicia. A menudo pasa demasiado rápido del nivel local al trans/global, sin tomarse el tiempo necesario para investigar las prácticas locales. Al abordar esta laguna en la investigación, mi objetivo es “relocalizar” los estudios dentro de su contexto geográfico y analizar las dinámicas trans/nacionales desde dentro, utilizando un enfoque ascendente basado en la etnografía. Este artículo presenta una etnografía prolongada llevada a cabo entre 2017 y 2022 dentro de los tribunales de terrorismo franceses por un equipo multidisciplinar. El artículo proporciona una visión general de la metodología, destaca el hallazgo clave y ofrece un marco metodológico para futuros estudios empíricos de tribunales, con la intención de apoyar a los investigadores en sus futuros estudios.

Introduction. Empirical research with judicial professionals and courts: Methods and practices

“…They argue that the jury has become a spectral presence that alters a myriad of existing practices, characters and responsibilities in the criminal justice of Buenos Aires that goes well beyond their verdicts. Weill's (2023) article presents an ethnographic research project on French terror trials, which aims to "re-localize" studies of counter-terrorism laws within their geographical context and analyse the trans/national dynamics from within, using a bottom-up approach, as performed and shaped within the judicial scene at the local level. The article proposes to analyse terrorism logics -exception, rule of law, emergency -beyond the dichotomies.…”