Exploring the concept of quality of legal interpretation in Sweden anno 2009

Arja Mäntykangas, authorized legal interpreter and translator

Swedish authorities apply methods and ideals of public procurement as supervised by the Swedish Competition Authority and based on the law of European Union. The concept of Competition implies that free market forces will give results.

The fundamental principles with regard to public procurement are the principles of

• non-discrimination (no discrimination based on nationality).
• equal treatment (all suppliers must be treated equally).
• transparency (openness and predictability).
• proportionality (contract must have a natural relation to the matter that are procured).
• mutual recognition (acceptance in the other Member states).

These principles are strategic/visionary guidelines for the procurement practice. Bur how are they reflected on active legal interpreters' work and guidelines? What kind of tactics do the suppliers create for legal interpreters on the operational level? Simply, how do/can legal interpreters create service quality when the conditions around them are changing? What can be meant by quality on the operational level of interpretation, anyhow?

In this paper I want to explore the dimension of quality from the point of interpretation.

Exploration gives a starting point when trying to understand the concept of quality. Exploration is made by reading actual Swedish articles (news papers, scientific articles, existing contracts, regulations for authorized interpreters made by The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency in Sweden.) and by listening to people with experience (lawyer, interpreter).

As the main theory trying to interpret the contents I will apply the theory of Finnish professor Grönroos. He describes the quality in service delivery in two ways: as functional quality and as technical quality. His model needs to be translated to the world of interpreters and the users.

By putting these pieces together I try to see concept of interpreting quality as a process, not only as a language product.

The world is changing. Public procurement in Sweden has high ideals, as in Europe in whole. The interpreter acts and co-acts on an operational level. Closer to them is the concept of quality. In this paper I have tried to make a draft for understanding a little of the complexity even at the operational level.

Court interpreters and sworn translators of legal language: The case of Slovenia

Viktorija Osolnik Kunc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

The paper will focus on the training of court interpreters and sworn translators and the recent changes in the examination standards in Slovenia. It will also look at the variety of educational backgrounds of court interpreters and sworn translators that play an important role for the development in court interpreting and sworn legal translating in Slovenia. In addition, current plans for the future will be presented.

Court interpreters and sworn legal translators are defined by the Rules on Court Interpreters. With regard to the Rules the applicants holding a university degree, having previous experience in legal translation and being EU citizens may be admitted to a legal seminar organized by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia. The seminar focuses on legal theory and examples of good-practice as well as a legal language workshop for each language. As there are no restrictions with regard to the educational background of the applicants, they may come from a variety of study fields. The number of educated linguistics (i.e. language teachers, translators, interpreters) is as high as the number of lawyers, followed by the applicants holding a degree in the fields of economics or mechanical engineering.

A few examples shall also show what advantages and obstacles linguists and lawyers face when working as court interpreters and sworn legal translators.

Interpreters in the legal process in Italy: A survey

Annalisa Sandrelli, Anna Caterina Alimenti, Faculty of Interpreting and Translation, LUSPIO University, Rome, Italy

In Italy there is no national qualification for legal interpreters and/or translators and requirements to be put on the lists of official court interpreters vary in different areas. Depending on the geographical area, no professional interpreters may be available.

The proposed paper aims to present the first results of an on-going survey of legal interpreting practice being carried out at LUSPIO University (Rome). The aim of the project is to collect as much information as possible on the availability of interpreting/translation services in all the stages of the legal process in various areas of the country. The data that will be presented come from final-year dissertations and a number of smaller student projects produced within the “Community interpreting” module offered as part of the Conference Interpreting degree course. It is hoped that a more accurate picture of the current Italian situation may emerge from this on-going effort, so that practical suggestions may be presented to the relevant authorities (Ministry of Justice and Ministry for Education and Universities) in due course.

Le statut et l'utilisation de traducteurs et interprètes en justice en France

Harm Diepenbroek, Georges Moukheiber, C.R.E.T.A. (Chambre Régionale des Experts-Traducteurs Assermentés d'Alsace)

En France, il serait hasardeux de parler de statut de traducteurs interprètes en justice quand on dénombre 5 listes distinctes à l’usage des tribunaux, ceci outre l’usage permanent par les services de police de traducteurs interprètes quasi attitrés qui ne figurent sur aucune liste.

En outre, la loi a institutionnalisé le corps des traducteurs interprètes en Justice en les intégrant dans le statut des experts judiciaires. Cette loi instaure, notamment, la formation annuelle obligatoire et la réinscription quinquennale. Toutefois aucune loi, aucun décret ne prévoit le moindre test du candidat, encore moins un entretien avec le candidat, si bien que les cours d’appel ont inscrit sur leurs listes, en qualité d’experts judiciaires, des traducteurs qui ne maîtrisent pas la langue du pays, à savoir la langue française.

Outre ces aberrations, la police fait régulièrement appel à des interprètes de fortune: tels le vigile turc, le restaurateur chinois, l’étudiant marocain… en s’abritant derrière une circulaire ministérielle qui permet, notamment, aux services de police d’avoir recours à des traducteurs non assermentés.

La CRETA présentera ses propositions en demandant à l’assemblée de les prendre en considération et de déclarer solennellement que l’utilisation de traducteurs interprètes non qualifiés constitue une violation du droit qui justifie amplement l’annulation de la procédure.

Loi de la ville libre et hanséatique de Hambourg relative aux interprètes et traducteurs – un modèle pour l’Europe?

N. Dalügge-Momme, Présidente de l’association professionnelle ADÜ Nord, Allemagne

Depuis 1986, Hambourg (Allemagne), étant une ville-état, dispose d’une loi réglant les aspects éthiques, formels et professionnels du travail des interprètes et traducteurs jurés à Hambourg. La loi, ainsi que le décret d’application de cette loi, furent modifiés par amendement dans les années 2005 à 2006.

La loi fixe un contrôle des connaissances juridiques et concernant la maîtrise de la langue par écrit et à l’oral. Cet examen est effectué par un jury composé de traducteurs assermentés, de professeurs d’université enseignant la langue en question, de juristes et de collaborateurs des autorités de l’état fédéré de Hambourg. Aux traducteurs et interprètes ainsi assermentés sera concédé le droit d’apposer un sceau à leurs traductions. Ils figureront sur une liste d’experts des tribunaux et cours du Land.

L’application de la loi a démontré sa praticabilité, voire sa nécessité, pour assurer l’exercice de la profession conforme au code déontologique.

La loi modifiée avec la coopération du Professeur Christiane-Jacqueline Driesen a servi par le passé de modèles à d’autres états fédérés allemands, harmonisant ainsi les critères d’accès à la profession du traducteur ou interprète légal.