Legal Issues Regarding Taiwan Court Interpreters

• Main Authors: Tai Yu-chun (Dinah), 戴羽君
• Other Authors: Cheng Chia-chieh J.D.
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47681258298988865786

碩士 === 國立雲林科技大學 === 應用外語系碩士班 === 91 === The function of the court is to find the truth from the evidence and testimony so that a fair judgment may be rendered. Language barrier exists between judicial officers, lawyers and the litigants when either litigants or witnesses are language-handicapped or hearing-impaired. To reach a fair trial, a qualified interpreter shall be provided for the understanding of the testimony given. Unfortunately, the role of a court interpreter receives little attention in Taiwan and current system is replete with problems. According to the Criminal Procedure Code of the R.O.C., the use of a court interpreter is not mandatory and is left with the discretion of the court. On the contrary, the Civil Procedure Code makes the use mandatory. Issues regarding the constitution and human rights such as fair trial, right against self-incrimination, right to the effective assistance of counsel and right to cross-examine witness will result if a qualified interpreter is not provided when a defendant is either language-handicapped or hearing-impaired. Besides, the current practice shows that there is neither national uniform language test nor evaluation standard for the court interpreters in Taiwan. A serious doubt is therefore raised about whether a court interpreter could either help a defendant to defend or assist a judge to understand the fact. The purpose of this research is to discuss the issues regarding court interpreter with the focus on the constitution and the court interpreter organizations. Brief introduction will be given on the definition, function and importance of court interpreter. Modern foreign laws and international conventions will be examined with a conclusion that the use of court interpreter is mandatory. Comment will be made in respect of the current system of court interpreter in the R.O.C. Finally, foreign court interpreter organizations will be introduced as reference for the future legislation.