Abstract

On the one hand, the spectator sees the judicial space as a theatre where he attends a specific play: the judicial ritual. Hence, the courtroom of the cour d’assises is a place of entertainment. On the other hand, the spectator also undergoes an experience of education and warning: by being present, he is confronted with the norms according to which society assesses behaviours, determines the limits of the tolerable, and punishes those who transgress them. He leaves trial with a message, as the initiatory architecture of the courthouse, the layout of the courtroom and the ritualised performance contribute to the expression and the transmission of a discourse on justice and, more broadly, on society. He then spreads the word, willingly or unwillingly, and as such participates in legitimising it. The public thus plays an active role in the strategy of the well-oiled machine that is the justice system.