Publication details
The Barrier of Incomprehensibility
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This paper was based on a text published as Legal Performance: Translating into Law and Subjectivity in Law (Tilburg Law Review, 2017). Legal language seems to maintain a level of incomprehensibility that creates a barrier beyond which something is happening: a dispute is resolved, a matter of guilt is ascertained, or a life is taken. This paper tackles the trial (in the sense of any type legal proceeding before a judge) as a performance of justice, one taht, not unlike a magical ritual or ritual theatre, happens beyond certain kind of barrier and is fully accessible only to those fully consecrated. It is argued that legal language may be understood as sucha barrier and the role and status of those who do not master it (do not understand law and its concepts) are comparable to those of an audience in a performance. Consequently, this paper will show how understanding the role of this barrier in a performance may help us explore the accessibility of law to the layperson and her subjectivity within law. |