On March 24th, 2025, Belgrade Legal Theory Group organized another event of the spring semester of 2025 with Elena Marchese (Bocconi University) on the concepts of truth and knowledge, as well as their application in asylum decisions.
Marchese examined the interplay of truth and knowledge in asylum decisions, advocating for an integrated epistemic approach that merges traditional and critical epistemologies. She critiqued the limitations of current practices, which often overlook the subjective experiences crucial to evaluating asylum cases fairly. Traditional epistemology seeks objective truth, while critical epistemology challenges oppressive structures, yet neither fully addresses the unique complexities of asylum contexts. Marchese emphasized that understanding applicants’ lived experiences is essential for effective protection, pointing to deficiencies in evidence scholarship and decision-making tools.
She called for enhanced operator training, systematic monitoring, and early legal assistance to improve reasoning and trust in asylum processes. Highlighting a European Court of Human Rights case, she noted how inconsistencies in claims, coupled with a lack of cultural context, led to rejection, underscoring the need for a more comprehensive approach. Marchese also argued that over-reliance on outdated reports and institutional biases distorts truth, potentially leading to unjust outcomes. She stressed that truth, tied to power dynamics, remains central to proceedings, despite academic skepticism. By integrating subjective and objective perspectives, alongside practical reforms, Marchese believes asylum decision-making can better address epistemic injustices, ensuring more equitable and reasoned outcomes for vulnerable applicants.
Following was the Q&A part of the event, with substantial interest from the audience that was mainly focused on different types of interpretations of the concept of truth and knowledge, epistemic limitations of legal reasoning, burdens of proof in asylum decisions, as well as the special features of such cases.
Ending the meeting, Sava Vojnović thanked everyone for an interesting discussion, as well as Elena Marchese for the excellent lecture.