The JLD recently hosted a member-only webinar with guest speaker Kaori Hashimoto about court interpreting (if you are a JLD member and missed out, you can watch the recording if you log into the JLD members-only page). In light of that, I thought it would be a good time to explore some of the many resources available to linguists interested in legal interpreting and translation.
NAJIT (The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators) is self-described as the world’s largest association of judiciary interpreters, but its members aren’t just from the legal sector, they come from conference, medical, diplomatic and immigration1 backgrounds as well. Members and non-members can take advantage of a wealth of information NAJIT has curated, including: an overview of certification options, the newsletter Proteus, the NAJIT Observer blog, white- and position papers, a code of ethics, useful links and more. Members also get access to a job board and enjoy discounts on NAJIT webinars and the annual conference. The 2025 conference included sessions on ethics, interpreter training using AI assistance, memory recall, note-taking, and business skills. The blog also highlights ethics with a series entitled “Let’s Test Your Ethics.” One recent post touched on the concept of “verbatim” and what it means in the context of the faithfulness required in a courtroom; another explored one veteran interpreter’s experience where a tried a true technique to manage the flow of information failed.
JLD’s own David Higbee–who recently earned a Licensed Master Court Interpreter credential in Texas for ES/EN in addition to being a Registered Court Interpreter in CA and NV for JP/EN–offers insight into the world of court and legal interpreting via his Substack.
In his article “Four Paths to Becoming A Court Interpreter (and Thriving),” he covers more than just passing an exam, he delves into the reality of being a court interpreter. Passing the exam might just be the “easy” part considering the work that goes into maintaining that credential and the incredible linguistic- and interpreting skills. David explains that interpreting in a legal setting requires more than just conversational or heritage-speaker level skills. The interpreter must have near-native command of formal register, legal syntax, and rapid lexical retrieval in all working languages2. He also lays out some hard truths about the “ethical rigors” of the job. This means that sometimes, the interpreter could be obligated to turn down an assignment that is beyond their level of competency or being able to advocate for adequate working conditions.
Other articles touch on what he has learned about the legal process and how it informs his practice as an interpreter and similar thought-provoking ideas.
Ethics plays a critical role in legal T/I as it defines how the interpreter/translator comports themselves in a legal setting. There are a plethora of codes of ethics available (see select list below), but they often share core elements, including: accuracy, competence, errors, impartiality, interpreting modes, personal interactions, remote interpreting, and more. Above all else, the idea that interpreters convey the spoken message completely with no additions or omissions and in the same register as the speaker, including any hesitations and factual errors made by the speaker is paramount. Court interpreters and translators are expected to maintain their skills and know when a case is beyond their linguistic ken–in which case, the interpreter would either decline the assignment up front or offer to withdraw if it has already started.
Despite the rigors of the job, some codes allow a certain amount of leeway for the interpreter. The Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals from the UN requires court interpreters to inform the Judge “of any doubt arising from a possible lexical lacuna in the source or target language” and stipulates that “if anything is unclear, interpreters and translators shall ask for repetition, rephrasing, or explanation.” The Indiana Interpreter Code of Conduct & Disciplinary Process allows court interpreters to have “proper legal and bilingual dictionaries readily available for consultation.” Several codes also acknowledge that errors are possible and instruct on how to address them when interpreting in court.
Perhaps most surprising is how short many codes of conduct are, often just one or two pages though some may be 30 pages or more due to formatting and detailed comments. While adhering to the letter of the code may prove challenging at times, many codes share similar core concepts that guide best practices for interpreters in the courtroom.
| Arizona | The Court Interpreter’s Code of Ethics |
| California | Professional Standards and Ethics for California Court Interpreters |
| Indiana | Indiana Interpreter Code of Conduct & Disciplinary Process |
| Kentucky | Court Interpreter Ethics in Remote Settings |
| Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (United Nations) | Code Of Ethics For Interpreters And Translators Employed By The Mechanism For International Criminal Tribunals |
| NAJIT | Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities |
| Washington D.C. | Becoming an Interpreter: Code of Ethics |
| Wisconsin | Code of ethics |
Finally, here is a list of resources related to legal/court interpreting that may be helpful.
- Legal Interpreting, a list of suggested reading for court interpreting from the folks at Interpreter Training Resources
- The Interpreter’s Edge, Generic Edition, court interpreting training material from former professor of translation and interpretation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies
- 弁護士による英文契約書の作成・翻訳・チェック, an EN>JP glossary of legal terminology
- 選挙専門用語の用語集, an EN>JP glossary of election terms from LA county
- 法令用語日英標準対訳辞書 （平成２０年３月改訂版）, a JP>EN glossary of legal terms from the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat
- Japanese Law Translation, offers English translations of Japanese laws and is run by the Japanese Ministry of Justice
Author/Editor: audra lincoln
Leave a Reply