Law has always worked with technology, even if it

was not called by that name. If we think of technology as those

things that people use to achieve a desired effect, then the

technology of law has encompassed documents, signatures and

files. The courtroom is a technology of the law, providing a

place for the parties and the judge to come together and

communicate, for witnesses to be sworn and to give evidence,

and for judges to pronounce binding decisions. The bench, with

its raised position, facilitates the judge’s surveillance and

control of the court, as well as framing (below the insignia of

a coat of arms or other symbol of authority) the legal

pronouncement of a sentence. This well-known ensemble of

people in specific roles, and of things that set the scene of their

roles and record the statements they make has accompanied

and developed with the law over many centuries.

Richard Mohr and Francesco Contini. Reassembling the legal. The wonders of modern science in court-related proceedings. Internet: (adapted).