Transcript Sign-Language Interpreting in Europe

Sign Language Interpreting
in legal settings
A European overview
European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli)
Marinella Salami, efsli vice-president
February 2012
2012 TRAFUTwww.efsli.org
workshop - Madrid
efsli – representing SLI in Europe
 Sharing information and experience
 Improve the standards
 Provide advice and support
 Present interests
 Membership
February 2012
www.efsli.org
efsli - members

27 full members: national
associations of sign
language interpreters

16 associate members:
organisations, for example
interpreter training
programmes

275 individual members:
interpreters or individuals
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Survey – our data
Total 94 respondents
 Individual SL interpreters (67%)
 National Associations (16%)
 Training Programmes (10%)
 Agencies (3%)
 Other
(5%)
February 2012
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Survey – respondents
Mostly from: UK, Norway & Netherlands
But also: Austria, Albania, Belgium, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania,
Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
February 2012
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Experience in legal settings
February 2012
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Survey – our questions
European Directive 2010/64/EU
 Article 2 – Right to interpretation
 Article 3 – Right to translation of essential
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
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documents
Article 4 – Costs of interpretation & translation
Article 5 – Quality of interpretation & translation
Article 6 – Training
Article 7 – Record-keeping
February 2012
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Right to sign language interpretation
State of the art
February 2012
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Right to sign language interpretation
State of the art
 “They say it is but in reality the legal settings
rarely provide it”.
 “It's provided by law but not always used that
way”.
 “The right is provided but not applied in reality”.
 “There is no Law providing sign language
interpreting, but sign language interpreters do
attend court sessions if needed”.
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Right to sign language interpretation
State of the art
 “I don't think by law but in 90% they use a SL
interpreter. Because SL was recognised in Flanders
in 2005”.

“I don't know if it is provided by law, but in criminal
proceedings court/ police etc always try to arrange an
interpreter”.
 “Not in criminal proceedings, Some judges and
lawyers know that there are SL interpreters and try to
find someone available”
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Right to sign language interpretation
February 2012
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If a suspected or accused Sign Language user/Deaf
person needs an interpreter for a criminal
proceeding, what is the procedure to follow?
 Interpreting agencies
 Deaf associations
 Individual interpreters are contacted directly
 Register & database
 List of sworn interpreters/qualified interpreters
 Relatives of Deaf people
February 2012
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Right to sign language interpretation?
“Some say they have a right to have an
interpreter, some say they don't. Even if they
[Deaf people] get the permission to use one,
there is no way of knowing how to get an
interpreter on the setting. The procedure is
always unclear, always different and includes a
whole lot of phone calls to figure out...”
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Translation of documents
 Sight translation provided on request
 Deaf translators are contracted to provide
translations of documents
 It depends on deaf people’s reading abilities
February 2012
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Team interpreting in court
February 2012
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Costs of SL interpretation
Depending on the procedure itself:
 Government
 Police
 Court
February 2012
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SL interpreting fee per hour
February 2012
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Costs of SL interpretation
“Due to cutbacks, there have been proposals to
significantly reduce payment for interpreters in legal
settings, which is leading to a 'race to the bottom' in
terms of price. This will impact on the quality of
interpretation offered - who is willing to study for 4 years
to work for €12 per hour and no costs for travel?
Commitment to quality seems to be dependent on
economic matters rather than a commitment to equality
before the law in any meaningful way”.
February 2012
www.efsli.org
How is quality of sign language interpretation in
legal settings ensured in your country?

National Registers

National Association of Interpreters

Some training & ad-hoc workshops provided by experienced
legal interpreters
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Some courts are allowed to decide who they want to be the
interpreter in their proceedings. It is then possible to make use
of an "interpreter" without any qualification or certification.
 No quality assessment
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Is there a National Register only for legal
sign language interpreters in your country?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Is the sign language interpretation of questioning
and hearings by an investigative or judicial
authority video recorded?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
February 2012
www.efsli.org
The European Directive 2010/64
What do SL interpreters know
about the Directive?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Have you heard about the European Directive 2010/64
on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal
proceedings?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
As far as you know, is your National Government
working on the implementation of the European
Directive 2010/64?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Is your National Association of Sign Language
Interpreters lobbying for the implementation of the
European Directive 2010/64?
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Challenges
 No full recognition of the profession of SLI
 Not all sign languages are formally recognised
 Working for a language minority community
 Limited (or no) training, funding and payment
 More research is needed
February 2012
www.efsli.org
Marinella Salami: [email protected]
www.efsli.org
February 2012
www.efsli.org