The conference

The topic of bias in criminal justice is becoming of primary importance in modern democracies. On the one hand, the principle that any justice system must not only be impartial, but also appear so to an outside eye (as long as properly informed), is well established. On the other hand, this very objective seems increasingly difficult to achieve.

The causes that may endanger an impartial course of justice are indeed very numerous, and it is impossible to make a complete list/list them all. Among them worth mentioning are factors such as race or gender or political orientations. Other elements such as the role of the media, and especially social media, perhaps less considered in the past, are now gaining prominence. Further causes of bias may also hidden in factors designed to improve the administration of justice, such the aim to increase efficiency in handling criminal cases. Eventually, the shifting of criminal justice toward preventive justice may also well be a cause of bias, even more thanks/especially in light of the development and use of AI systems.

The conference organized by the group “The Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems” intends to critically examine new and old factors that undermine the causes that may endanger an impartial course in the administration of criminal justice, from a comparative perspective and in the light of normative systems that are highly interconnected.

The conference will take place over three days, from 17 to 19 May 2023 at the at Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna, Italy.

The Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems

The Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems conference series is a collaboration between the Universities of Warwick, North Carolina, Bologna, Basel and Duke University. It seeks to understand how criminal justice systems rooted in adversarial and inquisitorial traditions approach common legal problems and trends - and how these are situated, understood and practiced within different legal cultures. Conferences take place every 1-2 years, rotating between the partner institutions and focusing on a different theme each year. Speakers with national and comparative expertise are drawn from across the globe, discussing topics from a range of disciplinary, methodological and legal procedural perspectives. The conferences take place over two and half days, with the first day devoted to papers from Early Career Researchers, with emphasis on participation and discussion throughout.