Tilburg Law Review Special Issue
Remote Criminal Justice
Call for papers
Can remote trials be fair trials?
Exploring the potential effects of communication technology in the criminal justice context
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a mass roll-out of the use of video links in criminal court rooms around the world. These criminal justice systems are now facing a fundamental question: how to properly integrate technological advances as a permanent feature of post pandemic criminal justice? While the potential advantages of remote justice seem to be clear (mostly saving costs and maximizing efficiency) the actual impact on procedural fairness is a more ambiguous matter. Traditional fair trial concepts such as presence, effective participation and assistance of a lawyer are without a doubt affected by remote participation but how and to what extent is not (yet) clear. Exploring, analyzing and understanding the potential effects of communication technology in the criminal justice context is not an easy endeavor. It concerns different questions such as whether and how the dynamics of courtroom interactions change in a remote setting, whether and how judicial decision-making is affected by the use of communication technology and – more theoretically – what these potential effects mean for our traditional ideals of a fair trial. At the basis of these and similar questions is the assumption that using technology and losing physical proximity means that ‘something’ is missing. Fact is, however, that we still know very little about whether and how the use of technology indeed affects effective communication in the courtroom. Does it – for example – affect the possibility to empathize with a defendant and to read nonverbal cues? And can remote participation affect how participants are perceived and potentially impact the judge’s assessment of credibility? Furthermore, does not having all participants physically present in court affect the solemnity of the trial and the authority of the judge? And what does it mean for our understanding of procedural fairness, more specifically: are our traditional fair trial rights adequate for assessing fairness in these new remote settings or do we need adjusted or even new procedural safeguards? In the post pandemic era, there is an urgent need for more understanding in these matters which – without a doubt – will require taking a multidisciplinary approach. In this special issue we welcome papers dealing with the issues mentioned above from a legal and/or a social science perspective (interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged).
Timeline and other practical matters
Maximum length of papers: 10.000 words including footnotes.
Closing date for manuscript submission: Extended till- 21 January 2022
The review process is double-blind. The leaders of the special issue will indicate two peer reviewers, internal and/or external, who we can approach. These two reviewers issue a substantive assessment of the manuscripts. The TLR will appoint a student reviewer, whose only task is to suggest additions or clarifications that might make the manuscript more accessible for an academic audience that is not expert in the field of the call for papers.
For more details, refer here
