Cultural Expertise in Poland: an Overview

While the Polish society is relatively homogenous, cultural differences do arise before the courts and become increasingly more of a challenge to the judicial system. In the talk, I offer a preliminary review of recent court decisions, where issues of culture featured prominently. These include an attempt by a Roma couple to purchase a newborn child from another Roma couple, a refusal by a Jehova’s Witness to take an oath before assuming public service, a decision on whether regional ‘Silesian’ identity deserved to be considered a national minority, and two cases involving alleged ‘honor killings’. Early data suggests courts in Poland usually dismiss the parties’ motions to appoint cultural experts (such as religious or cultural studies’ scholars), and instead seek ‘common sense’ interpretations. Participant observation and field interviews in a recent murder case involving a Tunisian defendant suggest, however, that this may soon change, as lawyers become increasingly open towards a cultural defense strategy, confronting the courts with new type of evidence. In the talk, I hope to discuss possible methodologies and problems of a further study of cultural expertise in Poland within the project Cultural Expertise in Europe: What is it useful for? (EURO-EXPERT).