2017 Language and Law Publication

Vera Willems, 2017, ‘International Courts and Tribunals and Their Linguistic Practices: A Communities of Practice Approach’, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 30(2), 181-99

Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11196-016-9486-5

In 2014, I presented a paper at the International Roundtable for the Semiotics of Law at the University of Copenhagen. The Roundtable had as its theme the language of international courts and tribunals (ICs), and I attended it as a PhD Candidate in the field of Legal Theory, more specifically in that of Language and Law, a proper niche bringing together lawyers, linguists, philosophers, and anyone with a penchant for the study of language across legal contexts.

Along with several other papers, my paper was published in the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law in 2017. The paper examines various analytical frameworks for the study of the linguistic practices of ICs and argues that the framework of the Community of Practice might be most suitable in making sense of those practices. I wrote the paper in the context of my PhD thesis which analyses the language of the European Court of Human Rights in judgments on freedom of religion by using insights from linguistic politeness research.

While the argument in the paper was developed more than 10 years ago and might therefore be in need of some updating, I do believe that it is essential to reflect first on the question of how to make sense of ICs as legal-linguistic actors before engaging in any form of linguistic analysis. The idiosyncratic nature of the practice of judicial decision-making may well be overlooked which might affect the outcome of such an analysis. However, my paper has been cited 19 times and has thus proven to be of quite some merit in legal scholarship. If you wish to read my paper, feel free to access it via the link — it is freely downloadable!