Court Interpreters and Fair Trials

Globalization has increased the number of individuals in criminal proceedings who are unable to understand the language of the courtroom, and as a result the number of court interpreters has also increased. But unsupervised interpreters can severely undermine the fairness of a criminal proceeding. In this innovative and methodological new study, Dingfelder Stone comprehensively examines the multitudes of mistakes made by interpreters, and explores the resultant legal and practical implications.

Whilst scholars of interpreting studies have researched the prevalence of interpreter error for decades, the effect of these mistakes on criminal proceedings has largely gone unanalyzed by legal scholars. Drawing upon both interpreting studies research and legal scholarship alike, this engaging and timely study analyzes the impact of court interpreters on the right to a fair trial under international law, which forms the minimum baseline standard for national systems.

Examines the mistakes and practical problems posed by court interpretation and the threat to trial fairness Suggests how to manage the impact of court interpreters to ensure a fairer trial system Includes case studies and comparative adversarial and inquisitorial examples

Autorentext

John Henry Dingfelder Stone is a Professor of Law at the Hochschule Rhein-Waal in Germany.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. The Right to an Interpreter.- Chapter 3. Courtroom Interpreting.- Chapter 4. The Right to a Fair Trial.- Chapter 5. Interpreter Error and its Implications.- Chapter 6. Systemic Issues.- Chapter 7. Analysis.- Chapter 8. Conclusions and Proposals.