EWJ FEB 59 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 62
The Country of Origin Expert as
Mediator between Cultural Worlds
by Igor Cherstich & Elena Consiglio
Country of Origin expert witnesses (“CO expert”)
play an essential role in asylum claims. This particular
type of expert provides opinions either prior to the
trial or in the judicial phase. The background of these
figures is highly differentiated, from anthropologists
to sociologists, comparative legal scholars, political scientists, cultural studies analysts, and regional experts.
The purpose of these witnesses is to bring forth elements that help the adjudicators determine whether
the asylum seeker is at risk due to reasons established
by the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967
annexed Protocol.
that characterise other forms of scientific evidence in
judicial trials, be it issues of objectivity, probability, admissibility, and, more broadly, questions concerning
the relation between experts as periti in a particular
area or subject and the judge as peritus peritorum.
Yet, at the same time, the CO expert occupies a distinct position, one that carries with itself specific complexities. This is due not only to the specificities of
asylum proceedings - where, unlike other trials, a 10
% chance of risk is deemed satisfactory to prove the
claim1 - but also because of the particular nature of the
expert’s work.
CO experts must be impartial in the presentation of
the evidence, and must express views which represent
their true and complete professional opinions on the
matters to which they refer. These experts should lay
out the sources upon which their opinions are based,
and these have to be consistent with reliable external
sources: be it government reports, academic literature
or independent NGO reports. Frequently, their opinions are presented in the form of a written report even
though they may be called to provide their opinion in
front of a judge at the hearing.
Doubtless, at a practical level, CO witness experts
fulfil a plethora of different functions. For instance,
these experts comment on the plausibility of facts and
statements about facts reported in the asylum seeker’s
account.2 In this sense, they are called to assess the veracity of the narratives provided by the asylum
claimant. Furthermore, these experts often assess the
authenticity of documents produced in the country of
origin, be it IDs, licenses of various kinds, birth and
death certificates or arrest warrants. Therefore, specific linguistic competences are required as well as an
in-depth knowledge of local bureaucratic and legal
practices. However, at the heart of these various tasks
lies one, deeper occupation, a function that, we argue,
is best described as ‘mediator between worlds’.
The role of the CO expert witness underlies a specific
logic. This figure entails the notion that first-hand experience and in depth knowledge of specific geographical contexts can prove invaluable in evaluating
the circumstances that force individuals to ask for protection. This is especially true with reference to countries whose social fabric and consuetudes differ from
those of the Euro-American context. Dynamics of persecution and discrimination that are found in these
countries might not be immediately evident or understandable to the untrained “Western” observer.
Hence, they require the perspective of an informed
third party.
The CO expert witness is supposed to provide
‘scientific evidence’. As such, the presence of this figure evokes the same complexities and conundrums
On the one hand, the CO expert is called upon to
discuss social, legal, religious and political practices
that take place in the country of origin of the asylum
seeker. In doing so, the expert often unveils the intricacy of these practices and their hidden meanings. On
the other hand, the expert witness is supposed to organise and present such knowledge in a language that
makes sense to an audience which is un-familiar with
the country of origin’s history and culture. In this
sense, the most valuable function of CO experts in asylum cases is that of making the unfamiliar familiar.
Their ultimate aim is to provide a form of cultural
translation.
