The European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), established in 2000 under the Bordeaux Charter, unites judicial training institutions across the EU with the aim of developing and implementing training and exchange initiatives that foster a common European judicial culture.
In line with this mission, from 31 March to 4 April 2025, the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology , Department ‘Law and Anthropology’, hosted a study visit in collaboration with EJTN. The event brought together judges and prosecutors from across Europe to reflect on adjudication when faced with diverse social, cultural, and linguistic contexts.
This year’s programme explored the theme ‘Country of Origin Information and Anthropological Expertise in Asylum Cases’, with an emphasis on a core exercise, called ‘Rethinking Judgments’, where judges would revisit and reconsider rulings in light of anthropological insights. Participants also engaged in discussions, collaborative exercises, and individual research throughout the study visit.
Opening the week, Professor Marie-Claire Foblets set the tone by clarifying the Institute’s role: ‘We are not decision makers… we are doing research’. She underlined the Department’s long-standing collaboration with the EJTN, and stressed the value of engagement—not only between the participating judges, but also with the many researchers from across the Department who would contribute to the week’s programme.
Dr Larissa Vetters and Dr Katia Bianchini elaborated on the aims and structure of the study visit organized by Department ‘Law and Anthropology’. Dr Vetters explained that the Department seeks to involve legal practitioners in its ongoing reflection and theorizing on concepts of justice and diversity, while also providing a space to jointly explore how such ideas might be applied in judicial practice. She highlighted several key concepts that would feature throughout the week’s programme, including ethnography, culture, positionality, reflexivity, diversity and superdiversity.
Dr Bianchini characterized asylum law as a paradigmatic example of complex diversity, shaped both by national legal traditions and the multiplicity of asylum seekers’ backgrounds. She underscored the challenges faced by judges in navigating unfamiliar sociocultural contexts and in working within a highly contested and politicized environment. Anthropology, she argued, can assist not only by contextualizing foreign normative systems but also by encouraging critical self-reflection on European adjudicatory practices.
One important part of the study visit involved an introduction to the CUREDI project (Cultural and Religious Diversity under State Law across Europe). As a growing online database, CUREDI provides detailed analyses of judicial responses to cultural and religious diversity, drawing from a wide range of European jurisdictions. Its relevance for judges lies in its capacity to offer comparative insights and broaden interpretative frameworks.
The judges, hailing from across several different EU countries, shared a strong interest in understanding how anthropological knowledge might inform judicial practice. Those working directly in asylum adjudication found the experience particularly pertinent, while others appreciated the opportunity to engage with unfamiliar perspectives and critically reflect on their own legal assumptions.