Training for court translators and interpreters on the use of legal concepts and the Handbook for the work of court interpreters

Today, October 5, 2023, the Academy of Justice in cooperation with the Judicial Council of Kosovo and with the support of the EUKOJUST project, are conducting the first training for Court Interpreters in all Courts of the Republic of Kosovo.

This training is a complementary step after development of the Handbook on the work of translators in the Courts and is intended for all interpreters who are part of the Courts as well as those newly recruited to become familiar with the handbook and its content, which has th following 8 key points on which it is based on:

The procedure of engaging the translator/interpreter; Duties and responsibilities of the translator; Code of Ethics; The guiding rate of the translator/interpreter; Keeping records and reporting; Impartiality and conflict of interest; The position of the interpreter in the courtroom; Performance of the translator/interpreter. Considering that a considerably large group of beneficiaries need to undertake this training, the training will be delivered in two groups, in two days, where the translators will have the opportunity to listen and discuss about the translation of legal terminologies, the challenges during translation and interpretation, especially for new legal concepts and the terminology unification between translators as well as each part of the handbook.

During the training, the participants will have the opportunity to listen to short video sequences from court sessions, especially from The Hague Tribunal, then simulations of trials and court sessions, prepared by the two experts engaged for this training, Mrs. Filloreta Hoxha – Expert for the management of translation services and Mrs. Valentina Sopjani – Head of the translation office at KJCS.

Beneficiaries of the training are the interpreters/translators of all Courts of the Republic of Kosovo.