Translation in pre-trial phases of the judicial process: developing a norm-based framework to train translators working into Arabic

Abstract

The present study examines the implications of judicial translation in the context of international migration and its relationship with the law of the host country. In this context, judicial translation involves highly sensitive documents that can be as varied as family registers and statutory declarations. It also refers to specific legal instances of interaction with judicial authorities in which the observance of certain communication norms is of paramount importance. This is particularly true in the strict setting of a judicial interview. This paper describes how translation is performed in a pre-trial police interview in which the communication of certain basic legal obligations becomes challenging for a migrant person, due to differences in legal backgrounds. In such a situation, the main question is as follows: how can differences in basic legal notions be dealt with in the particularly strict setting of a judicial interview with the assistance of a translator? To answer this question, the study focuses on a threefold challenge for the translator, who must be equipped to handle language, translation and legal/ethical norms. It proposes a translation framework based on these norms and the way in which they are applied in a real interview. It seeks to guide the translation task and serve as a tool for judicial translation training. With regard to the translation norm, the study shows that discursive creation is to be the most relevant technique to represent concepts that do not have counterparts in the target language. Although the foreign element in the new terminology may Ahighlight the boundary between the foreign law and the target legal institution, this technique also leads to the creation of new concepts in the target institution.