Interpreting Services - Legal Settings
ISO 20228 specifies requirements for interpreting services in legal settings - courts, police, immigration, and other justice contexts.
- Legal Interpreting
- Court Settings
- Police Interpreting
- Immigration Contexts
- Interpreter Competence
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About ISO 20228:2019 - Interpreting Services - Legal Settings
ISO 20228:2019 specifies requirements for interpreting services in legal settings - covering courts, police stations, immigration authorities, and other justice and legal contexts. It is part of the ISO interpreting standards family and builds on the general principles established in ISO 18841 (general interpreting) and ISO 13611 (community interpreting) with additional requirements specific to the legal domain.
Legal interpreting is one of the most demanding and high-stakes forms of interpreting. Errors or omissions in legal settings can result in miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions, or violations of the right to a fair trial. ISO 20228 recognizes this by imposing stricter competence and conduct requirements than general interpreting standards.
The standard covers all forms of legal interpreting including court interpreting (criminal, civil, family, and administrative proceedings), police interpreting (interviews, cautions, and custody), immigration interpreting (asylum hearings, visa interviews, and detention), and other legal settings (legal consultations, notarial proceedings, and mediation). It applies to both in-person and remote interpreting (telephone and video).
ISO 20228 specifies competence requirements for legal interpreters covering linguistic competence in both working languages at a professional level, knowledge of legal terminology and procedures in both legal systems, knowledge of the ethical requirements specific to legal interpreting, and the ability to manage the interpreting interaction in adversarial and high-pressure environments.
Key conduct requirements include strict impartiality (legal interpreters must not advocate for any party), complete accuracy (all statements must be rendered completely without omission or addition), transparency (interpreters must disclose any conflicts of interest), and confidentiality (all information encountered must be kept confidential).
Source: ReadSafety.com - Free ISO Educational Resource by USQC · readsafety.com/iso/20228