Representation of Expert Knowledge in the Legal Field and the Problem of Legitimacy of Legal Decisions

Abstract

The article demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of different theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of interaction of forensic experts and jurists. The author substantiates the relevance of combining the concept of «working group» and Bourdieu’s theory of juridical field for problematizing the legitimacy of legal decisions in the context of representation of expert knowledge in legal proceedings. This approach allows us not only to analyze the process of circulation of expert knowledge but also to take into account the structural context of interaction of forensic experts and jurists revealing the interests, strategies and tactics of various actors. The article emphasizes the need for conducting empirical sociological research focused on entanglement of dispositions of actors and their positions in social space. The author’s approach allows to reveal the strategies of using expert knowledge for legitimization of legal decisions. Interviews with participants in legal proceedings confirm that pre- judicial «working groups» are characteristic for the system of criminal justice in Russia. The persistence of relations between participants of a pre-judicial «working group» is defined by institutional interdependence of organizations which they represent and by informal relations. The differences between «working groups» are based on such factors as the scale of urban space and the degree of diversification of the market of expert services.