Paper short abstract:

I explore current ways of conceptualizing customary law by Czech asylum authorities and suggest their possible distinct legal-anthropological reconceptualization in order to increase the comprehensibility of escape stories.

Paper long abstract:

In the asylum evidence, Czech asylum authorities and courts encounter cultural and legal differences of the countries of origin. Especially within the assessment of evidentiary documents such as transcripts of asylum interviews and COI they are often reluctant to interpret facts which do not fit conventional legal background. The actors of persecution and serious harm as well as the protectors against them in the country of origin are diverse and sometimes very uncommon. In case when traditional legal authorities such as elders and inter-tribal councils (from Afghanistan, Yemen and Jordan) are these actors, a distinct legal-anthropological expertise is needed but not available. However, usual reductive interpretations of the traditional authorities as cultural entities often decrease the plausibility of escape stories. In this paper, I therefore examine current ways of conceptualizing customary law by Czech asylum courts and suggest their possible distinct legal-anthropological reconceptualization.