Visit to the Palace of Justice and the Court of Appeal

As part of the interdisciplinary week organized the Collegial, I had the opportunity to visit the Palais de Justice and the Cour d'Appel. Having followed the course of Law and Society in the winter of 2023, being able to visit the places we have talked about was a valuable experience. Furthermore, these visits enabled me to expand my understanding of how the legal system works and is organized. At the Palais de Justice, we had the opportunity to attend trials in the criminology section and observe its progress. This experience enabled me to see how a person's testimony is used, the different strategies put in place by the defense lawyer and the prosecution lawyer to obtain information from the witness, how the judge manages the trial, and how the courtroom is organized. At the Court of Appeal, we were given a brief presentation on the role of the judges who work there, and the link between the Court of Appeal and the Palais de Justice. A translator of legal texts was also able to tell us about her job and explain the main elements of her daily routine.