The Role of the Country of Origin Expert in Judicial Proceedings

Abstract

The country of origin expert is gradually becoming a central figure in legal procedures, particularly for what concerns the assessment of cases of international protection. Judges, lawyers, and legal practitioners in general increasingly recognise the relevance of this figure, and in their pronouncements, judges frequently rely on specialized information provided by these experts, so as to shed light on particular aspects of the country of origin of those who apply for asylum. The logic that underlies this recent development is as intuitive as it is revealing, for it entails the notion that first-hand experience and acquired knowledge of the legal, social, religious and political facets of specific geographical contexts can prove invaluable in evaluating the circumstances that might force individuals who come from these contexts to ask for protection. This reflection is particularly pertinent when it comes to countries whose social fabric and consuetudes radically differ from those of the Euro-American context. As dynamics of persecution and discrimination that are found in these countries might not be immediately visible or understandable to the untrained Western observer, and require, therefore, the mediating capacity of an informed third party. Naturally, such a view of the role of the expert immediately evokes a series of thorny questions concerning the issues that one encounters in attempting to translate specific cultural idiosyncrasies in a different cultural – and in this case, legal – idiom. Issues that have occupied, and still occupy, the minds of scholars from different disciplines. These questions, to be sure, are beyond the scope of this text. However, in the conclusion I will briefly survey some of these issues. Even still the empirical basis provided by this book offers a platform that allows these enquiries to be formulated, and as such this work is to be understood as a practical contribution to a theoretical debate, in the full knowledge that, in order to survey and unpack the potential contribution of the expert in the context of international protection, further reflection is required. The text lends itself to be used as an aid for legal practitioners. In particular, each case-study deals with topics that, though extremely specific, relate to broader issues that country of origin experts often deal with, namely religious beliefs (particularly when these are antagonised by local State institutions or they bear a negative connotation in the local perception), sexual orientation (particularly when the subject faces violent persecution due to his sexual habits and preferences) and the complex question of human trafficking and modern slavery (a topic that helps to shed light on various other forms of persecution and infringement of human rights as well as on the issue of relocation). Special attention will be given to the question of religious freedom, with two chapters devoted to this matter, one that focuses on established religious groups and another on emerging ones.