Units

Center for Legal History and Legal Anthropology

Research in legal history (included roman law) and sociolegal studies.

Projetcs

Migrants without papers and without rights? Alternative modes of conflict resolutions in Brazilian migrants communities in Belgium

In an interdisciplinary perspective, this research intends to analyze the forms of conflict resolution as practiced by the community of Brazilians living illegally in Belgium. Despite the growing interest of studies on the problem of conflict resolution as well as on A« para-criminal A» regulatory mechanisms in many scientific fields, in particular those of criminology and legal anthropology, those studies remain rare in the areas of research addressing illegal immigration. This research will document, analyze and understand the way Brazilians, in the context of immigration, recognize and resolve their conflicts. Using a varied methodology, essentially qualitative in nature, we aim to understand, firstly, how the conflicts emerge, make sense and are resolved inside this community; secondly, the impact of the illegal status of the stay of the Brazilians on the mechanisms of conflict resolution. To this end, the meaning of the conflict (cultural, religious, social, economic, etc.) and its resolution will be particularly considered in the context of this research. Our argument is that the forms of conflict resolution depend on the interactional dynamic in which members of the Brazilian community are inserted, which lead them to define the situation as a conflict, to make adjustments to it and to translate the situation in order for it to make sense.

For a multicultural family justice ? Ethnographic observations of Belgian family justice in a multicultural context

The research project of Caroline Simon deals with the relations between families from a migrant background and Belgian family law. It begins with the observation that the major changes Belgian family law has undergone in recent years have transformed family models and their inherent values, leading to a more individualistic and liberal system. The question is therefore whether new models generate difficulties for families with a traditional structure when they are subject to Belgian family law. The first step of the research is to focus on the courtroom to see what kinds of challenges come to the fore for the judge when dealing with families from a migrant background, and to examine how cultural differences and cultural diversity are addressed in the courtroom. The project lies within the framework of legal anthropology and thus uses empirical methodology in order to show the law in action as it is carried out in everyday life. This involves observations in courtroom and semi-directed interviews with professionals. Much existing literature concentrates on the impact of cultural diversity on the criminal justice system and juvenile delinquency, the aim of this project is to focus rather on the civil level, that is to say in local court (Justice de paix) and civil court, in the youth section (Tribunal de premiere instance, section jeunesse). A second step will be to enlarge the research areas with interviews with families and their counsel or social workers, to explore how the different actors in the field foresee the impact of cultural diversity and the migrant background on the family justice process.  If the primary aim of this project is to be descriptive and qualitative rather than normative, it still cannot be completely divorced from the ambition of meeting the challenge of multiculturalism and articulating possible contributions to bettering our shared existence.