Katalin Balogh and Heidi Salaets
The right to an interpreter is part and parcel of the roadmap for strengthening procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings. Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings has sought to lay down common minimal rules on this fair trial right. Arguably, the directive could be seen as a push towards the institutionalisation of interpreting and the professionalisation of interpreters in criminal proceedings.
Assuming that vulnerability means a suspect’s or accused’s difficulty in understanding or following the content or the meaning of the proceedings, the interpreter could be seen as the gateway to facilitate such understanding.
Moreover, the 2012/29/EU establishes minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, even more so if the victim is a child.
In our presentation, we wish to outline our research on foreign language (FL) speaking minors. Next to FL-speaking minors involved in criminal proceedings (as victims or suspects), the cases presented will also consider FL-speaking (non-accompanied) minors involved in asylum procedures in Belgium.
We will critically reflect on the (lack of) underlying assumptions and definitions as to what that role of the interpreter is, in particular in light of the vulnerability of FL-speaking minors. We will elucidate and build our reflections on the basis of empirical research that sought to clarify the perspectives of the different actors involved in interpreter-mediated interaction in the legal sphere. What is new is that we will specifically consider the minors’ viewpoints: through interviews with vulnerable minors, we will illustrate their view on the interpreter’s role and competences. By listening to the minors’ voices, we definitely respond to their need to the right to participation, as described in article 12 of the CRC (Child Rights Convention) of the UN.
Keywords: criminal proceedings, legal interpreting, minors, vulnerability, code of ethics, role and competences, fair trial.