Claims-making in court cases on children
Religion, ethnicity, and culture in cases of Dutch minority families against the state
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1209Keywords:
Claims-making in court, cultural defenseAbstract
This paper focuses on cultural, religious, or ethnic claims made by family members in court cases against state institutions in the Netherlands. Based on an analysis of court judgements, I explore claims-making in cases regarding children from minority families in various fields of law. In the literature, such claims are often discussed in the context of the so-called cultural defence, where perpetrators of crimes make cultural claims to avoid or lessen punishment. However, family members may also make claims for exceptions of state policies, demand accommodation of particular practices, or to challenge discrimination by state institutions. The paper shows how Dutch courts are reluctant to engage with such claims, and often leave them out of court judgements entirely. I argue that this lack of engagement with cultural, religious, or ethnic claims should be understood in the context of general Dutch discourses of colour-blindness and assimilation of migrant minorities.
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