TransLaw – Exploring Legal Interpreting Service Paths and Transcultural Law Clinics for persons suspected or accused of crime
TransLaw – Exploring Legal Interpreting Service Paths and Transcultural Law Clinics for persons suspected or accused of crime
Project duration: 2018 until 2019
Project description:
The demand for interpreting services in Europe has grown considerably in the last years, including in the legal domain. An increasing number of persons suspected or accused of crime require interpreting in the pre-trial, trial, and post-trial phase. The European Union has adopted a number of Directives on this topic, including Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.
The TransLaw project aims to provide better interpreting services in the legal domain for people who do not have sufficient command of the official language of the country in which they are residing. Thanks to integrated research in the fields of interpreting studies and law, this project seeks to contribute to the state of knowledge and training methods in both fields.
Activities:
- In the research phase, the project explores the complex service paths of persons suspected or accused of crime who do not have sufficient command of the official language of the country in which they are residing and the points at which interpreting services are required. At the same time, it highlights the possibilities and limitations that interpreters are faced with in legal settings.
- In the training phase, joint workshops and trainings for interpreters and legal professionals such as lawyers, judges, police, etc. are developed and implemented. This enables interdisciplinary learning.
- In the final phase of the project, transcultural law clinics for criminal law will be set up at the four participating universities. At these law clinics, law students and interpreting students will work together to support persons suspected or accused of crime who do not have sufficient command of the language of the jurisdiction. With this, the project contributes to fulfilling the universities’ third mission.
The target group of the project are professionals and students in the fields of law and interpreting.
Funding body: DG Justice Grant Agreement number: 760157 — TransLaw — JUST-AG-2016/JUST-AG-2016-06
Project partners: University of Vienna (Centre for Translation Studies and Postgraduate Center), University of Trieste (IT), Catholic University of Leuven (BE), University of Maribor (SI)
Website: http://translaw.univie.ac.at