I am delighted to pass along the CfP for the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law 2025 Annual Conference--Legal Evidence in the Age of Techno-Societies and Visual Jurisprudence. It will be held 7-9 May 2025 and hosted by the University of Coimbra Institute for Legal Research of the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The organizing committee--J M Aroso Linhares, Maria João Antunes, Maria José Capelo, Ana M. Gaudêncio, Luís M. Meneses do Vale, Brisa Paim Duarte--now invite submission of proposals.
Submit abstracts of up to 300 words by January 31st, 2025, to: J M Aroso Linhares (jmarolinhATgmail.com) and Anne Wagner (valwagnerfrATyahoo.com). Decisions on participation will be communicated by February 20th, 2025. Registration Period is from March 2nd to April 10th, 2025. Selected papers may be published in a special issue of the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law or included in an edited volume: Law and Visual Jurisprudence series and/or Living Signs of Law series. The roundtable languages will be English and French.
The CfP follows below.
25th International Roundtable for the Semiotics of Law (IRSL 2025)
Legal Evidence in the Age of Techno-Societies and
Visual Jurisprudence
Dates: 7-9 May 2025
Location: University of Coimbra Institute for Legal Research (UCILeR), Faculty of Law
– University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Organizing Committee:
J M Aroso Linhares, Maria João Antunes, Maria José Capelo, Ana M. Gaudêncio, Luís
M. Meneses do Vale, Brisa Paim Duarte
Between the 11th and 14th of March 1987, the University of Messina hosted a memorable
meeting focused on the discourse and practice of Proof in Law. This event was the third
conference of the International Association for the Semiotics of Law, which, as we well
know, led to the equally memorable special issue of the International Journal for the
Semiotics of Law (IJSL), published in two volumes (Approches du discours de la preuve
en Droit / Approaches to the Discourse of Proof in Law, IJSL vol I, nº 3, 1988; vol II, nº
4, 1989). These volumes presented various meta-dogmatic approaches, ranging from
speech act theory and narrative semiotics to sociolinguistics and inductivist probabilism.
They also included key chapters by Wróblewski, Jackson, Landowski, and Twining,
whose contributions continue to be foundational for contemporary theories of legal
evidence.
Our upcoming meeting, IRSL 2025 in Coimbra, is not only a tribute to this significant
event and its remarkable legacy but also a proposal, nearly 40 years later, to systematically
revisit the theme of Legal Evidence. As indicated by the conference title, our aim is to
address the challenges posed by the markedly different practical and cultural context of
today. This context will be explored through two primary dimensions ; i.e. :
1. Techno-Societies and Legal Evidence
The first dimension, global in scope, focuses on the influence of techno-societies and
the demands for congruence that are often imposed unilaterally by technological
teleologism and social engineering projects (Hans Albert).
2. Visual Jurisprudence
The second, more specific dimension, examines the importance of visual meaning-
making. It explores the new role of rhetoric and the evolving concept of textuality in
light of the rapid expansion of "viserbal" (visual and verbal) communication and the
"semiotic dance" of the video-sphere (Goodrich), which together have given rise to
the emerging field of Visual Jurisprudence.
Techno-Societies and Legal Evidence
This dimension opens up discussions about the core topics of scientific forensic evidence
and expert testimony. These discussions require internal (procedural-dogmatic and
meta-dogmatic) approaches, as well as external perspectives, drawing on analytical,
socio-linguistic, and semiotic tools. A combination of these views is necessary to address
key issues such as:
• The communication paradigm that forensic experts’ statements and reports should
follow. Should they adhere to the individualization paradigm or the likelihood
paradigm?
• The possibilities and limits of judicial assessment of expert evidence in various
normative frameworks.
• The types of warrants, backing, and criteria that underpin the adjudicative
(judicial) weighing of expert evidence.
• The principle of free assessment of evidence and its different normative and
systematic configurations.
• The challenges posed by hyper-specialization and the growing range of resources
available in forensic science, which impact expert evidence and judicial
evaluation.
• The influence of emerging fields such as neuroscience, computer simulations,
DNA phenotyping (and other predictive genetic information), and data analytics
(e.g., probabilistic-inductive arguments provided by machine learning).
• The need for congruence between the dominance of scientific (empirical-
explicative) proof and jurisdictional adjudication.
• The importance of rethinking the construction of reality in the courtroom,
including the plausibility of an intensional understanding of truth and meaning.
• The necessity of reassessing the relationship between dogmatic and meta-
dogmatic approaches, particularly where these approaches overlap or conflict.
These considerations highlight the increasingly complex relationship between legal
evidence and the evolving landscape of digital democracy.
Visual Jurisprudence
The second dimension focuses on the theory and practice of Visual Jurisprudence, with
particular attention to the use of images in evidentiary adjudication. Several critical
questions arise like:
• What is an image? Can we make an objective statement about what an image truly
depicts? Is it possible to make an analytic judgment about the truth or falsity of
an image or its content?
• What specific issues arise, at both dogmatic and meta-dogmatic levels, when
images are used as forensic evidence?
• Is visual "evidence" demonstrative? What does – and does not – an image prove?
Can images be interpreted literally, as straightforward references to facts? Can
they be textualized?
• Can images or pictures serve as hermeneutic devices? What does it mean to
interpret an image in legal and forensic contexts? How do images convey
meaning, whether legal or otherwise?
• Can images be tamed? In terms of admissibility, what types of images can and
cannot be used as forensic evidence? Can legal discourse truly regulate images in
the visual era, subjecting them to pre-established disciplinary standards?
• How should the relationship between evidentiary images and the broader body
of evidence be understood? Are images independent entities to be viewed in
isolation, or must they be seen within the context of other images and events?
• How does the increasing presence of visual images in the courtroom affect
normative standards and legal methodology?
• Should the perception of images as an interruption in traditional legal discourse
be viewed as a call for new analytical tools and structuring criteria?
• How do visual discourse, image theory, and aesthetics help us understand the
relationship between visual practice(s) and legal discourse(s)?
• How does the rise of new mass media, digital, and virtual experiences influence
the materiality of legal evidence?
• What changes does the understanding of visual proof entail in the digital era?
How should the relationship between digital images and material reality be
framed, particularly in relation to juridically relevant realities?
• Does the use of visual evidence open the door to an aesthetic and visual turn in
legal narrative? What is the relationship between legal images and the narrative
paradigm? Do images reinforce or challenge the role of narrative rationality?
• Does the use of visual evidence suggest the need for a "juristic methodology of
looking" as part of the pursuit of "retinal justice"?
Confirmed Plenary Speaker: Peter Goodrich (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, NY)
Abstract Submission: Submit abstracts of up to 300 words by January 31st, 2025, to:
• J M Aroso Linhares (jmarolinh@gmail.com)
• Anne Wagner (valwagnerfr@yahoo.com)
Decisions on participation will be communicated by February 20th, 2025.
Registration Period:
March 2nd to April 10th, 2025
Selected papers may be published in a special issue of the International Journal for the
Semiotics of Law or included in an edited volume: Law and Visual Jurisprudence series
and/or Living Signs of Law series.
The roundtable languages will be English and French.
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