Law, Language and the Courtroom

"`The editors are to be commended for compiling a volume which shows that language in judicial settings can be analysed from a multiplicity of perspectives, covering a variety of both common law and civil law countries and institutions. Several of the contributions are corpus-based, while others investigate thematic areas offering critical considerations on particular topics. Seen as a whole, the volume offers a series of fascinating glimpses into the world of judicial discourse. Readers may be pleasantly surprised to discover that the language of judges is evolving and adapting to the needs of modern society, perhaps more profoundly than is commonly thought!' Christopher Williams, University of Foggia, Italy `What do judges do when they judge? They have to separate reality from fiction; they have to know, to understand and ""apply"" a hyper complex system of regulations and they have to deal with expectations of legal colleagues (dogmatists), politicians and the public with particular understandings of law and justice. But above all: they ""do"" all this in and through language: interrogating process participants, interpreting and combining legal texts, delivering the judgment and defending it argumentatively against (potential) objections by lawyers and observing laymen - they create and reproduce ""the"" law as text and discourse. The book edited by Stanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski and Gianluca Pontrandolfo offers both a substantial overview of the recent interdisciplinary research and great new insights into the interdependencies of language practices, structures and patterns inside and outside the courtroom.' Friedemann Vogel, University of Siegen, Germany `Focussing principally but not exclusively on international courts, Law, Language and the Courtroom: Legal Linguistics and the Discourse of Judges looks at writing in the genres that present and publish the outcomes of the courts’ work. Readers will find a sophisticated guide to international courts’ discourse practices and their distinct judicial voices, including expression of the court’s own role in negotiating sceptical tolerance and fixed conviction. The judicial presence can show up in evaluative terms advancing a decision or, equally, in styles suggesting objectivity. Chapters in this volume, in addition, invite further research and inquiry into the relations between standardisation and clarity where diversity is a main – if not defining – condition.' Janet Giltrow, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada `In this volume, Goźdź-Roszkowski and Pontrandolfo bring together a rich body of scholarship exploring the courtroom as a space for the development and shifting of legal norms. The essays in Law, Language and the Courtroom: Legal Linguistics and the Discourse of Judges explore the dynamic aspect of law through the performance of law in that space. From the particular challenge of the European courts, which have to adjudicate in a space between the transnational and national, to explorations of ‘judicial behaviour’ as a way to circumvent conflicts in interpretation of the US Constitution, the chapters in this volume put forward new theories and methodologies for understanding the relationship between language and law (making). This book presents a significant contribution to the field of law and language.' Karen McAuliffe, University of Birmingham `Law, Language and the Courtroom. Legal Linguistics and the Discourse of Judges, edited by Stanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski and Gianluca Pontrandolfo, is an inspiring book with many great lessons in legal linguistics. The volume provides useful linguistic insights into how legal argumentation is constructed, interpreted and perceived. It is a must for lawyers and linguists specialising in judicial argumentation and reasoning.' Victoria Guillén Nieto, University of Alicante, Spain"