Conference on Mitchel Lasser's 'Judicial Deliberations' (Rotterdam January 12-13 2007)

On Friday January 12th and Saturday January 13th, the law faculties of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Antwerp University and Leiden University are hosting a conference around professor Mitchel Lasser's recent book 'Judicial Deliberations' (OUP 2004), entitled 'The Legitimacy of Highest Courts' Rulings'. (see the announcement on the Cornell Law School website here).

In his book ‘Judicial Deliberations. A Comparative Analysis of Judicial Transparency and Legitimacy’ professor Mitchel Lasser compares the ways in which the US Supreme Court, the French court of cassation and the European Court of Justice argue their decisions. He develops a new understanding of argumentative practices at these courts through an original method of comparison in which a separation is made between the legitimizing effects of explicit judicial reasoning and those of a broader institutional and legal-cultural framework. The aim of this conference is to bring together contributions to the debate on the legitimacy of highest courts’ judgments, both from academic circles and from magistrates, against the backdrop of Lasser’s pathbreaking work. The conference will conclude on Saturday afternoon with a roundtable debate between professor Lasser and magistrates from the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the French Cour de cassation, the Belgian Cour de cassation and the Dutch Court of cassation (Hoge Raad).

The conference will be held on the Woudestein campus of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Participation is open to all those interested. For more information or registration please call the Opleidingscentrum voor Recht en Praktijk at 00 31 (0)10 408 1597 or email orp@frg.eur.nl. I'd also be happy to answer questions at jacco-dot-bomhoff-at-gmail-dot-com.