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On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts—The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen
On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts—The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen
Mathilde Cohen
This Article discusses the importance of language in the institutional design of European and international courts, which I refer to as “linguistic design.” What is at stake in the choice a court’s official or working language? Picking a language has far-reaching consequences on a court’s composition and internal organizational culture, possibly going as far as influencing the substantive law produced. This is the case because language choices impact the screening of the staff and the manufacture of judicial opinions. Linguistic design imposes costs on non-native speakers forced to use a second (or third) language and confers a set of advantages …