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  • © 2018

Court Interpreters and Fair Trials

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Examines the mistakes and practical problems posed by court interpretation and the threat to trial fairness
  • Suggests how to manage the impact of court interpreters to ensure a fairer trial system
  • Includes case studies and comparative adversarial and inquisitorial examples

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eBook USD 89.00
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Softcover Book USD 119.99
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Hardcover Book USD 169.99
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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. Introduction

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 1-7
  3. The Right to an Interpreter

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 9-51
  4. Courtroom Interpreting

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 53-102
  5. The Right to a Fair Trial

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 103-158
  6. Interpreter Error and Its Implications

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 159-245
  7. Systemic Issues

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 247-274
  8. Analysis

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 275-307
  9. Conclusions and Proposals

    • John Henry Dingfelder Stone
    Pages 309-331
  10. Back Matter

    Pages 333-337

About this book

Globalization has increased the number of individuals in criminal proceedings who are unable to understand the language of the courtroom, and as a result the number of court interpreters has also increased. But unsupervised interpreters can severely undermine the fairness of a criminal proceeding. In this innovative and methodological new study, Dingfelder Stone comprehensively examines the multitudes of mistakes made by interpreters, and explores the resultant legal and practical implications. 

Whilst scholars of interpreting studies have researched the prevalence of interpreter error for decades, the effect of these mistakes on criminal proceedings has largely gone unanalyzed by legal scholars. Drawing upon both interpreting studies research and legal scholarship alike, this engaging and timely study analyzes the impact of court interpreters on the right to a fair trial under international law, which forms the minimum baseline standard for national systems.




Authors and Affiliations

  • Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Science, Kleve, Germany

    John Henry Dingfelder Stone

About the author



John Henry Dingfelder Stone is a Professor of Law at the Hochschule Rhein-Waal in Germany.



Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access