K-Peritia
Building Capacity in Cultural Expertise
K-Peritia (COST Action CA22101, 2023–2027 funded by European Cooperation in Science and Technology – COST and the European Union) is an international and interdisciplinary research network dedicated to advancing cultural expertise—the use of cultural knowledge about culture and society in legal proceedings, dispute resolution, and other decision-making institutional settings. Chaired by Livia Holden (CNRS/MFO) and based the Royal Anthropological Institute of the United Kingdom and Ireland, K-Peritia brings together around 130 researchers and practitioners from more than 30 countries across Europe and beyond, including South Asia, North America, and Australia.
A central objective of K-Peritia is to transform research on cultural expertise into accessible resources for training and professional practice. The project has developed an online training platform for experts and experts-to-be as well as for the legal professions, providing structured learning materials on the theories and methods of cultural expertise, expert-report writing, ethics, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and engagement with legal professionals. The platform contributes to the longer-term objective of developing shared standards for the professionalisation and certification of cultural experts, while remaining sensitive to different legal systems and disciplinary traditions.
K-Peritia also supports CULTEXP for K-Peritia as further development of CULTEXP, through a multilingual digital showcase and research environment that makes the results of comparative research on cultural expertise accessible to researchers, practitioners, institutions, and the wider public. CULTEXP for K-Peritia brings together a compact sample of judicial decisions, expert reports, research findings, training resources, and multimedia materials, creating a bridge between academic research and its practical application.
Through these interconnected activities—research, training, digital dissemination, professionalisation, and international networking—K-Peritia is building a sustainable infrastructure for cultural expertise and strengthening dialogue between the social sciences, law, and professional practice for a more inclusive justice.
PI: Livia Holden (CNRS/MFO)
Website: https://k-peritia.com/network/
