Livia Holden

Professor Livia Holden

Small Group Project 2022-23

Cultural Expertise and Litigation in South Asia and Europe

This project pioneers a critical examination of the meaning and usage of cultural expertise in litigation in South Asia and Europe via a cross-jurisdictional analysis. Expert witnesses with various disciplinary backgrounds are known play an important role during decisions on rights and liabilities, helping the judges to understand these matters for a smooth resolution of disputes. However, when it comes to interpretive social science and humanities, controversies arise over the appropriateness of involvement of historians, political scientists, religious leaders as experts of culture. While recent research has discussed approaches adopted by some European jurisdictions, other States appear to have followed different mechanisms in this regard.

More information

Research outcomes

Holden, L., Seth, M., Mishra, A., & Steuer, M. (2023).

The rise of cultural expertise in litigation. Jindal Global Law Review, 14(2), 207–216.

Areas of interest

Ethnography South Asia Anthropology Law Culture Governance Cultural Expertise

Cohort

FG7

Biography

Livia Holden is Directrice de Recherche at the CNRS Institut des Sciences Juridique et Philosophique de la Sorbonne. With over thirty years of academic experience grounded in ethnographic fieldwork in South Asia and Europe, she has played a foundational role in shaping anthro-socio-legal scholarship at the intersection of law, culture, and governance. She is internationally recognised for theorising the concept of cultural expertise, now widely used to understand and mobilise the role of local knowledge in judicial and policy settings across diverse jurisdictions. Her research also explores the gendered dynamics of legal professions in South Asia and the interactions between customary norms, state law, and governance — both within South Asia and its diasporas — with particular attention to governance in disputed areas and contexts of legal pluralism. Her work has advanced both theoretical frameworks and applied methodologies across anthropology, legal studies, and comparative public policy.

Biographical details correct as of 27.04.26