Droit et Cultures (May 2008)
Le réajustement du rapport juge/expert : entre consensus et domination
Abstract
As a reality test, the Outreau case has questioned the legitimate schemes of knowledge and powers in France. In that prospect, the hearings held by the parliamentary committee in 2006 have led numerous psyche experts to reconsider the requirements of a potential encounter between judges and experts. The hearings’ minutes tell of larger academic and scientific considerations, implying that the Anglo-Saxon psychiatry and psycho-criminological pattern grow as the reference models. As such, the hearings’ system has a dual significance: it shows a reflection on the legitimacy of experts to intervene in the legal field as much as a conflict of scientific patterns.
