The Heroes of the Judicial Periphery

Court Experts, Court Clerks, and Other Actors in the Shadows
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-5099-8052-9
Verlag: Hart Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 740 g

This book assesses the role of court experts, court clerks and court staff, and other actors on the 'judicial periphery' who play an important role and often co-determine the pace, outcome, and tone of the judicial process.

In national civil justice systems, the limelight is all too often cast on the main actors: judges, lawyers, and parties but the court's support staff can sometimes be overlooked. This book explores their role.

The knowledge and skills of experts may be indispensable at times, but it is among the most expensive, complicated and time-consuming means of evidence. The judges adjudicate, but where experts are involved in the process, they have a decisive impact on the outcome of litigation. Therefore, a principal focus of the book is on experts and how they are appointed, managed, and remunerated across Europe and the world.

Other ancillary professions may also be decisive for effective provision of court services. Different jurisdictions have different rules and habits, but inevitably recognise the need of adequate support for judges. Sometimes judges command the whole team of clerks and lawyers; sometimes they share a secretary or a clerk. But in all cases, those who assist judges in their daily work have a significant impact on the effectiveness and quality of the judicial process and its outcome.

The book considers the contribution of different actors including clerks, secretaries, advisors, counsels and reporters. It focuses on cooperation and the interplay between judges and other professional actors in litigation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Uzelac, Alan

Voet, Stefaan

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Ausländisches Recht Common Law (UK, USA, Australien u.a.)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Unknown is Unloved: The Heroes of Judicial Periphery, Stefaan Voet (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Alan Uzelac (University of Zagreb, Croatia)

Part I: Court Staff
2. Law Clerks: A Tool for Reducing Delays in Civil Justice in the EU, Nicolas Kyriakides (University of Nicosia, Cyprus) and Athina Katsiantoni (Cyprus)
3. The Italian Path to Judicial Clerkship, Elisabetta Silvestri (University of Pavia, Italy)
4. If She Acts as a Judge, Earns as a Judge, then She Must be a Judge! The Case of Judicial Advisors in Croatia, Juraj Brozovic (University of Zagreb, Croatia)
5. The Role of Judicial Secretaries in Spain: The Story of a Collective Frustration? Fernando Gascón Inchausti (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain)
6. A Brief Overview of Some Aspects of Court Staff Training from a Belgian and European Perspective, Raf Van Ransbeeck (KU Leuven, Belgium)
7. Judicial Assistance in England and Wales, John Sorabji (University College London, UK)
8. Judicial Assistants and Courts as a Teamwork - The Clerkship: A Vision from Latin America, Álvaro Pérez Ragone (Pontificia Universidad Católica, Peru)
9. The Missed Assistant Judges and the Lost Judge Assistants: A Reflection of the Judiciary Classification in China, Yulin Fu (University of Peking, China)

Part II: Court Experts
10. Expert Knowledge: Closer to the Centre than to the Periphery, Eduardo Oteiza (La Plata National University, Argentina)
11. Experts on Foreign Law in German Civil Procedure, Michael Stürner (University of Konstanz, Germany)
12. Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem? Party-appointed Experts in Serbian Litigation Proceedings, Branka Babovic Vuksanovic (University of Belgrade, Serbia)
13. Party-appointed vs Court-appointed Experts: Considerations in Light of the Macedonian Experience, Tatjana Zoroska Kamilovsk (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia)
14. Appointment of Experts in Norwegian Civil Proceedings, Magne Strandberg (University of Konstanz, Germany)
15. Expert Evidence in Custody Disputes and Child Protection Cases. Much Debate and Limited Research, Camilla Bernt (University of Bergen, Norway)
16. The Heroes of Judicial Periphery: Court Experts and Shadow Actors: A View from South Africa, Danie van Loggerenberg (University of Pretoria, South Africa)

Part III: Other Actors
17. Beyond Wooden Desks: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Reshaping the Role of Court Staff, Gina Gioia (Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Italy) and Seyedeh Sajedeh Salehi (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)
18. Supporting Actors in International Child Abduction Cases before Brazilian Federal Courts, Maurício Magalhães Lamha (2nd Federal Court Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
19. Can the King be Wrong? The Brazilian Public Prosecutors as 'Heroes of the Periphery': Prosecutors who Sue the State and Large Corporations in Collective Redress Cases, Hermes Zaneti Jr (Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil)
20. Financing Collective Actions and Strategic Litigation in Europe: The Role of Third-Party Funders in the Shadow of the Procedure, Adriani Dori (Erasmus School of Law, the Netherlands) and Xandra Kramer (Erasmus University, the Netherlands)

Über Autor(innen)

Voet, Stefaan
Stefaan Voet is Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, KU Leuven, Belgium and a host professor at the University of Hasselt, Belgium. He was the 2016-2017 TPR Chair at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Uzelac, Alan
Alan Uzelac is Professor of Civil Procedure at Zagreb University, Croatia.

Alan Uzelac is Professor of Civil Procedure at Zagreb University, Croatia.
Stefaan Voet is Professor of Civil Procedure at KU Leuven, Belgium.