Terror on trial : an ethnography of French courts / Sharon Weill, Denis Salas, Antione Mégie, Christiane Besnier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weill, Sharon, Author.

Salas, Denis, author.

Mégie, Antoine, author.

Besnier, Christiane, author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in law and society.

Cambridge studies in law and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trials (Terrorism)--France.

Trials (Terrorism).

Terrorism--Law and legislation--France.

Terrorism.

Criminal courts--France.

Criminal courts.

Criminal procedure--France.

Criminal procedure.

Terrorism--Trials--France.

Political crimes and offenses--France.

Political crimes and offenses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 236 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Grounded in court ethnography, this book explores terrorism trials in France. A multidisciplinary research team examines how terrorism logics are reflected, represented, and negotiated within criminal proceedings. Based on hundreds of hearing days - ranging from small terrorism criminal cases to the so-called trials for history, commonly known as the 'Charlie Hebdo' and the 'Bataclan' trials - this study offers a nuanced, bottom-up perspective on the role of courts. Through courtroom immersion, close observation of legal performances, and interviews with judicial actors, it investigates how justice is shaped in practice. Identifying three generations of trials, the book provides original insights into the evolving role of courts in terrorism cases. From an empirical and comparative perspective, it also seeks to make criminal trials of civil law systems more accessible to Anglophone readers, offering a deeper understanding of how terrorism is prosecuted in France, highlighting the role of judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and victims.

Contents:

Introduction: From the Laboratory of the Lower Courts the Bataclan Show Trial: Three Generations of Terror Trials

Chapter 1 Courtroom Scenes & Methodology

Chapter 2 The Trial Actors: In the Name of the French People

Chapter 3 The Laboratory of the 16th Chamber: Designing the Architecture and Experimenting the Policy

Chapter 4 The Second Generation of Jihadist Trials: The Slow Justice of the French Assize Court (2017-2019)

Chapter 5 The Trials for History: A New Paradigm for the Prosecution of Mass Crimes?.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 12 Jun 2026).

ISBN:

1-009-33321-6

9781009333238

OCLC:

1602016091