Tras los estrados del tribunal: un estudio etnográfico de los tribunales de justicia italianos

Interpretation of the written law, far from being a cognitive activity, is a concrete and material practice, which is created, recreated and reinforced through experience and through continuous individual and collective learning occasions. This article tries to reflect on the activities of the Italian judges, on the basis of the data drawn from several periods of ethnographic research conducted over two years in four Italian courts specialized in legal arguments at first instance related to Labour relationships, Assistance and Welfare. The conclusion of the paper is that interpretation of the written law, while remaining a prerogative of the single Italian magistrate, is linked to the organizational context in which each judge operates and to the occasions for comparison with the colleagues of court.