Court monitoring

The Alliance Against Racial Profiling has developed a transdisciplinary group of researchers, activists, and sketch artists to examine how unconscious and conscious racist attitudes, everyday racism, and institutional racism are embedded in the legal process and how this prevents racial justice.

#aufklärungskommission #aufenthaltssicherheit #bewegungsgfreiheit

A RESEARCH COLLECTIVE ON RACISM IN THE COURTS

We investigate the ways in which racist knowledge, everyday racism, and institutional racism are embedded in the legal process and how this prevents effective laws against racism. We operate under the name "Research Collective on Racism in the Courts"

(Liebscher D. et al.: Rassismus vor Gericht. Weiße Norm und Schwarzes Wissen im rechtlichen Raum. S. 136)

Background

The Research Collective is a group of social scientists and lawyers. Dedicated sketch artists support us.

Institutional racism does not only occur in policing, but also in the courts. With our trial monitoring, we draw attention to this phenomenon. At the same time, we send a message of solidarity to those affected, create publicity and interest in the court proceedings, and more specifically, on the topic of racial profiling and institutional racism. Our overarching questions are:

  • How does the courtroom/practice of adjudication work?
  • Which rules and hierarchies’ structure are available in a courtroom?
  • How is recognition, credibility, and legitimacy distributed or constructed and to whom is it ascribed?
  • How is racism negotiated as a topic, in which contexts is it addressed, where is the word avoided?

A monitoring of the trial already begins before the trial starts, while waiting outside the courtroom at the entrance. We are interested in who is present, the mood and the reactions of the visitors, possible supporters and the employees of the court. We also note verbal and non-verbal actions and our own feelings.

The specific questions we ask during the monitoring can be found here:
Beobachtungsfragen

Results

The result of our first trial monitoring at the District Court of Zurich against Mohamed Wa Baile on 7.11.2016 is a detailed trial report and a racism analysis, as well as an article in Jusletter, and a photo gallery with court drawings.

Trial Report from November 7, 2016
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Racism Analysis of the Trial on 7. 11. 2016
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Article in Jusletter on the Trial Monitoring (9/2017)
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Article in the "augen auf" Bulletin on the Migrants’ Law Case (3/2018)
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