PhD defence E. (Eleonora) Di Molfetta

This research explores the impact of globalising forces on judicial practices related to foreign defendants without a valid residence permit in an Italian criminal court. To that end, it investigates empirically how courtroom actors make use of discretion when sentencing foreign defendants, and how such use is influenced and constrained by the broader trans-local context. This research relies on one-year of courtroom ethnography in the criminal court of Turin, a city located in the north-west of the country. In particular, it draws on extensive empirical materials consisting of semi-structured interviews with courtroom actors, local media analysis, case-file analysis and observation of criminal proceedings. The findings of this research show how the legal, organisational, political, social and cultural environment in which a criminal court is embedded shape decision-making processes.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.