The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings
Court interpreting plays a critical role in ensuring effective communication during legal proceedings. This study explores issues related to language assistance services in Italian legal proceedings, focusing on the Direttissime division at the Milan Courthouse. Qualitative data were gathered throug...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Verona
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Iperstoria |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iperstoria.it/article/view/1586 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849687259980234752 |
|---|---|
| author | Patrizia Anesa Federica Cantagalli |
| author_facet | Patrizia Anesa Federica Cantagalli |
| author_sort | Patrizia Anesa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Court interpreting plays a critical role in ensuring effective communication during legal proceedings. This study explores issues related to language assistance services in Italian legal proceedings, focusing on the Direttissime division at the Milan Courthouse. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with interpreters and professionals working at the courthouse as well as direct observations conducted in 2023. The interviews revealed systemic issues, including inadequate training, lack of legal expertise, and poor remuneration. Observations of courtroom proceedings also highlighted significant gaps in interpreter performance and organization, often compromising the defendant’s understanding and participation. Notwithstanding the inherent constraints of a singular case study, this analysis corroborates the notion that, despite the implementation of legal reforms, there has been minimal advancement in enhancing the quality of interpretation over recent decades. Therefore, this work calls for better training, assessment, and remuneration for interpreters, alongside more collaborative efforts among legal stakeholders to uphold the right to a fair trial for non-native speakers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-84894e01e2a5450d96b47ed9dc75c604 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2281-4582 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Verona |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iperstoria |
| spelling | doaj-art-84894e01e2a5450d96b47ed9dc75c6042025-08-20T03:22:22ZengDepartment of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of VeronaIperstoria2281-45822025-06-012510.13136/2281-4582/2025.i25.15861570The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal ProceedingsPatrizia Anesa0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0795-745XFederica Cantagalli1University of BergamoIndependent ResearcherCourt interpreting plays a critical role in ensuring effective communication during legal proceedings. This study explores issues related to language assistance services in Italian legal proceedings, focusing on the Direttissime division at the Milan Courthouse. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with interpreters and professionals working at the courthouse as well as direct observations conducted in 2023. The interviews revealed systemic issues, including inadequate training, lack of legal expertise, and poor remuneration. Observations of courtroom proceedings also highlighted significant gaps in interpreter performance and organization, often compromising the defendant’s understanding and participation. Notwithstanding the inherent constraints of a singular case study, this analysis corroborates the notion that, despite the implementation of legal reforms, there has been minimal advancement in enhancing the quality of interpretation over recent decades. Therefore, this work calls for better training, assessment, and remuneration for interpreters, alongside more collaborative efforts among legal stakeholders to uphold the right to a fair trial for non-native speakers.https://iperstoria.it/article/view/1586court interpretingitalian criminal proceedingsinterpreter traininglegal languagelanguage mediation |
| spellingShingle | Patrizia Anesa Federica Cantagalli The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings Iperstoria court interpreting italian criminal proceedings interpreter training legal language language mediation |
| title | The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings |
| title_full | The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings |
| title_fullStr | The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings |
| title_short | The Right to Language Assistance in Italian Criminal Proceedings |
| title_sort | right to language assistance in italian criminal proceedings |
| topic | court interpreting italian criminal proceedings interpreter training legal language language mediation |
| url | https://iperstoria.it/article/view/1586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patriziaanesa therighttolanguageassistanceinitaliancriminalproceedings AT federicacantagalli therighttolanguageassistanceinitaliancriminalproceedings AT patriziaanesa righttolanguageassistanceinitaliancriminalproceedings AT federicacantagalli righttolanguageassistanceinitaliancriminalproceedings |