The role of interpreters in court proceedings
Let us start by stating the obvious, or not so obvious? There is no doubt that the work of the interpreter at all stages of a judicial process is absolutely vital.
Firstly, the interpreter allows the foreign defendant or suspect with no, little or even average knowledge of our language to avoid the limitation of speaking in a language they do not master and to express themselves in their mother tongue and provide all the necessary nuances and explanations to their testimony or statement.
Secondly, thanks to the interpreter, the foreign defendant or witness is on an equal footing if they can understand in their own language everything that is being said about their case and if they can communicate fluently with all the legal operators involved in the proceedings (lawyers, prosecutors, judges…).
It is these conditions that ensure that the defendant can exercise their right of defence, that there is real fairness in the process and that a fair ruling is contributed to, as all parties have had the opportunity to speak and be heard in their own language. The judge hearing the case is the ultimate guarantor that these conditions are met.
How does the interpreter work in a courtroom?
In principle, the interpreter could work either simultaneously, with the appropriate technical equipment (receivers, booth…), or consecutively (listening first and then interpreting into the other language).
In this working context, most professional interpreters choose to interpret consecutively what the foreign defendant or suspect says ̶̶̶̶ by listening, taking notes and then interpreting ̶̶̶ , and in whispered interpretation ̶̶̶̶ simultaneously in a low voice next to the defendant ̶̶̶̶ what lawyers, judge, etc. say.
To comment very briefly on the preparation that an interpreter needs in order to do his or her job properly, let us say again the obvious. Or perhaps not? Knowledge of the other language is by far not enough to guarantee faithful and fluent interpreting. Among the main requirements would be a perfect command of the working languages, exhaustive specific training in the legal language in those languages, mastery of interpreting techniques (consecutive and simultaneous), the preparation of which requires years of training and practice, and prior study of the case to be interpreted.
What is the current state of judicial interpretation in Spain?
All of us who are familiar with this sector know that in our country there is a serious problem when it comes to facilitating interpretation in judicial proceedings, mainly due to the fact that the State puts this service out to tender and the prevailing factor when awarding the tender for courts and police stations is mainly the price. Spain is not an exception in Europe, as other countries around us have similar problems.
This means that professional interpreters are ruled out of the equation in most cases because the rates are so low that the service ends up being provided by people who know the language (to varying degrees) but are not properly trained as professional interpreters.
This naturally leads to serious misinterpretations and misunderstandings that undermine the rights of foreign defendants to be heard and to be able to express themselves in their mother tongue and thus to a fair trial.
This is a very complex situation, with many actors involved and whose solution is not simple, but could involve the creation of an official register of court interpreters, with which to guarantee that they are trained, that they comply with the profession’s code of ethics and that, in short, they contribute to equity and justice.
If you wish to delve deeper into this very interesting topic, I highly recommend reading La asistencia lingüística en el proceso penal tras la Directiva 2010/64/UE ¿Derecho fundamental o mero formalismo? It is a necessary work and should be “compulsory reading” so that everyone involved in the judicial system becomes aware, understands the seriousness of the situation and tries to advocate for a positive change.