THE TRANSLATOR AS A SUBJECT OF ENSURING THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL IN THE CONTEXT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE STANDARDS

Abstract

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the legal status and functional purpose of the translator in judicial justice from the standpoint of ensuring the right to a fair trial and access to justice. The methodological basis of the research is the methods of analysis and synthesis, formal-legal and structural-functional methods, with the help of which scientifi c approaches to the procedural status of the translator are generalized and its role in the mechanism of ensuring the right to a fair trial is determined. The results. The scientifi c article comprehensively analyzes the legal nature and functional signifi cance of the translator in the judicial justice system through the prism of ensuring the right to a fair trial and access to justice. Within the scope of the study, a generalization of doctrinal approaches to understanding the role of the translator as an independent participant in procedural legal relations, whose activity directly aff ects the eff ectiveness of the implementation of procedural rights and freedoms of persons who do not speak the language of court proceedings, has been carried out. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the linguistic accessibility of justice as a component of the principles of equality of parties, competition and the right to defense, which allows to consider translation not as a technical element of court proceedings, but as a legally signifi cant tool for ensuring the fairness of the process. The article provides a systematic analysis of international and national legal approaches to the regulation of the translator’s participation in court proceedings with an emphasis on their consistency and complementarity. A conceptual understanding of the translation activity was carried out in the context of guaranteeing the real, not declarative nature of procedural rights, in particular, the ability of a person to understand the content of the accusation, procedural actions and legal consequences of court decisions. It was determined that the eff ectiveness of court translation depends not only on the formal involvement of a specialist, but also on the quality of linguistic support, professional competence and compliance with the ethical standards of the translator. Special emphasis is placed on the study of professional and qualifi cation requirements for the translator involved in court proceedings. The importance of special training, mastery of legal terminology, ability to accurately and completely reproduce legal terminology without distorting their meaning is analyzed. It is substantiated that the interpreter in the court process performs the function of a procedural guarantor, which ensures a balance between the formal requirements of the court proceedings and the actual opportunities of the person to realize his rights. The approaches to the ethical principles of the translator’s activity, which are considered as a necessary condition for trust in the results of the court proceedings and the legitimacy of justice in general, have also been summarized.