Why Create a Hub Around These Phenomena?

The late 20th and early 21st centuries have been marked by diverse military and nonstate actor conflicts, political turmoil and violence, and growing economic inequality across the globe. These situations have led to a mass displacement of individuals fleeing conflict, insecurity, poverty and other humanitarian crises, and also to new law-based remedies such as international criminal prosecutions and dispute resolution, multilateral refugee resettlement policies and domestic proceedings that determine the legitimacy of asylum claims. At the same time, organizations and movements around the globe are working toward increased social justice, equity and fairness at the local level.

A wide range of international and domestic situations are thus characterized by the meeting of multiple languages, diverse cultures and the search for justice through legal and other channels. Knowing the relevant law, however, is not enough to fully appreciate the complexity of how justice is sought and how it is inevitably impacted by linguistic and cultural factors.

It is evident, for example, that there is a need for reliable interpretation between languages, cultures, legal systems and often the expectations of involved actors in order for justice to be achieved. It is also clear that the very concept of justice can mean different things to different people, depending on their backgrounds, experiences and world views.