Christoph A. Kern

English as a Court Language in Continental Courts

Most recently, several countries on the European continent have admitted, or are discussing to admit, English as an optional court language. This article provides some information about the background of these recent initiatives, projects and reforms, clarifies the idea on which they are based and explores the purposes they pursue. It then identifies in a theoretical way the various possible degrees of admitting English as a court language and the surrounding questions of practical implementation. These general issues are followed by a presentation of the initiatives, projects and reforms in France, Switzerland and Germany. Not surprisingly, the idea of admitting English as a court language has not only found support, but has also been criticised in legal academia and beyond. Therefore, the article then attempts to give a structured overview of the debate, followed by some own thoughts on the arguments which are being put forward. It concludes with an appeal not to restrict the arguments in favour of admitting English as a court language to merely economic aspects, but also to give due weight to the fact that admitting English may facilitate access to justice and may result in bringing back cases to the public justice system.

Le prix des services juridiques

The price of legal services is, on the one hand, an important factor with respect to access to justice. On the other hand, the offer and its quality depend on the price of these services. For those seeking legal advice and representation, it is difficult to determine the quality of the services that they receive. They can, of course, appraise the availability of their lawyer as well as the length of the briefs and the beauty of the offices and the stationery. They can also easily ascertain whether they have won a case or not. However, it is difficult for them to know whether the services in a strict sense, i.e. the reliability of advice and the weight of arguments, as well as their presentation, best serve the client. For this reason, market forces govern the relationship between price, offer, and quality only to a very imperfect degree. Taking into account the importance of legal services for any society, legislatures have been trying for centuries to guarantee, at the same time, an affordable price and an offer of acceptable quality. At first sight, new technology could reduce the price and thereby dissipate all related concerns. However, they raise questions not only with respect to quality but also with respect to the development of prices in the long run, taking into account the tendency to create new monopolies.