No international(ized) criminal tribunal or court could function without the translators and interpreters. It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly talented and meticulous they are in capturing not just the language but also the intonations – the spirit, if you will, of that which is being conveyed by the speakers. It is a demanding and exhausting job to be sitting in on proceedings doing simultaneous or near simultaneous interpretations with precision, when witnesses as well as the lawyers, on all sides, are prone to meandering inarticulately or even unintelligibly. Were that not challenging enough, when judges misspeak or are caught making faux pas, reflexively many of them tend to blame the interpreters. Yet, despite the challenges they face every day when in the booth interpreting (translators are constantly working under challenging deadlines), the value of the interpreters and translators in making proceedings and trials possible is rarely fully recognized. Nor do many of us who appear in the international(ized) criminal tribunals and courts spend much time socializing with them, or even getting to know them. We either take them for granted (after all they are not “learned” like us), or we are simply too fixated on our own work and self-importance.
AN ASIDE: In Praise of Interpreters and Translators, Book Review of NO SELL DEAD – A Tale of Cambodia
James Jennings, author of NO SELL DEAD, is an accomplished interpreter of extensive experience before the international(ized) criminal tribunals and courts. I had the privilege to work with him when we were both at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). For several years, he was the chief interpreter at the ECCC while I was Ieng Sary’s and Meas Muth’s International Co‑Lawyer. Our paths rarely crossed. Well, that’s not accurate. Whether it be a meeting, a minor hearing, or trial proceeding, interpreters were mandatorily present. Jennings or one or more of his colleagues were there, unobtrusively performing their magic. Through the interpreter serving both as code-breaker and conduit, a speaker utters in one language and other language(s) are magically heard. Strange sounds converted into lucid, intelligible, discernable language, enabling discourse, exchanges, and action. But for the interpreters, none of this would be possible. Ditto for the translators who toil in the backroom turning the inaccessible into the accessible for the monoglots or linguistically challenged.
Jennings exemplifies the talent and cultural sophistication interpreters and translators possess. By nature, they are curious, with an affinity for language, literature, and history. Well-traveled, well-read, culturally sensitive, nuance-attentive, detail-observant. Without them where would we be? Imagine holding an international conference without them. Impossible. They make it happen. They are the unsung and often unrecognized heroes. Not just at the international(ized) criminal tribunals and courts, but wherever they find themselves offering their language skills, turning what would otherwise be a cacophony into a symphony.
This past Saturday afternoon, on Armistice Day, 11 November, a day that commemorates the end of World War I in 1918, I had the privilege to be a panel speaker on Ethics in Law and Interpreting: Lawyers and Interpreters Talk Ethics: Mutal Expectations, Shared Experiences at the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) 14th Legal Symposium organized by the AIIC Netherlands Chapter.
Held in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Great Hall of Justice at the Peace Palace (shown above in the header to this blog), the symposium was attended by 80 AIIC members, all accomplished interpreters from near and far. The panel, of which I was a member, consisted of Kosovo Specialist Chamber Judge Guénaël Mettraux, International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Joanna Korner, former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia and defence counsel at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and ICC Tom Hannis, AIIC Conference Interpreter and Trainer Kate Davies, AIIC Interpreter and Member of the AIIC AI Taskforce Monika Kokoszycka, and National Member for Germany at Eurojust Jan MacLean. We were welcomed by AIIC Conference Interpreter and ICJ Staff Interpreter Naomi Apfelbaum-Lubek, while the panel was moderated by AIIC Conference Interpreter Sylvie Nossereau.
Walking into the Peace Palace on this momentous date, hailed in 1918 as the end of the war that would end all wars – and finding myself sitting among these exceptionally talented and experienced interpreters gathered to discuss ethics and how it virtually impacts, interacts, and intersects the legal and interpreting professions – was heartwarming. I could not help but think of how far we have come and yet how little we have traveled, how the lessons of the past are so quickly forgotten. And how, despite the grandeur of the Peace Palace, and all the goings-on of the ICJ, we are seeing warfare à la WWI played out in Ukraine, while the cradle of three of the major religions – whose bedrock principles are peace, tolerance, understanding, and love for our fellow mankind – is engulfed in flames and human misery.
We were gathered on this rainy day in The Hague, home of international courts and justice, to discuss and exchange thoughts on ethics – this indispensable rubric and collection of rules that govern the legal and interpreting professions. In wars, crimes are an inevitable consequence. Yet without justice there cannot be peace. But for there to be justice, there must be accountability. And for accountability there must be trials before national and international courts. Yet, without the assistance of professional, committed, and ethical interpreters, credible, reliable, acceptable trials cannot occur. Hence, the significance and dare I say solemnity, of holding this symposium on ethics in the legal and interpreting professions.
Preparing for my presentation compelled me to look into the codes of conduct for interpreters. Unsurprisingly, interpreters’ ethical obligations mirror much of those of judges, prosecutors, and defence counsel. At the core, independence, loyalty, truthfulness, integrity, lack of conflict of interest, diligence are general principles shared with the legal profession.
This modest post is not the time nor place to go into an exegesis on ethics. Perhaps another time. My aim here is to merely pay tribute to the interpreters, to acknowledge their indispensable contribution to international criminal justice in particular, as well as their contributions in general. And this could not have been more effectively highlighted than by two particular panelists, Kate Davies who raised more questions and shared concerns on ethical issues confronting interpreters, and Monika Kokoszycka, who brought to the fore the impact of and critical issues – present and foreseeable – in the emerging importance of and reliance on AI (artificial intelligence) in the day-to-day functions of interpreters.
Thank you AIIC for hosting this symposium.
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respected sir
thanks very much sir
Hear, Hear! I was continually impressed with the professionalism and integrity of the ECCC interpreters — and translators. I got to know many of them personally, and only became more impressed. We truly could not have done it without them.
It was fascinating listening to your contribution during the panel, and seeing ourselves through your eyes. You certainly hit the nail on the head in talking about ethics for both our professions!
Thank you for the tribute and for eloquently highlighting the paramount importance of ethics in our work and the ethical nexus with yours.
Thank you for taking the time to pay tribute to interpreters. I have had the pleasure of interpreting you before the ICC and can attest to your eloquence.
So heartwarming to read this tribute and acknowledgment to our profession. Thank you for writing it in such beautiful words❤️
It’s wonderful to hear it from your perspective and your appreciation connects right to the heart of the “why” we become interpreters- playing our part to contribute to the world. Thank you for seeing us!
An honor to interpret for you and to really feel your passion for your work and what you bring for the community. Thank you for the inspiration!