Translating Evidence and Interpreting Testimony at a War Crimes Tribunal [electronic resource] : Working in a Tug-of-War /
Elias-Bursac, Ellen.author.
How can defendants be tried if they cannot understand the charges being raised against them? Can a witness testify if the judges and attorneys cannot understand what the witness is saying? Can a judge decide whether to convict or acquit if she or he cannot read the documentary evidence? The very viability of international criminal prosecution and adjudication hinges on the massive amounts of translation and interpreting that are required in order to run these lengthy, complex trials, and the procedures for handling the demands facing language services. This book explores the dynamic courtroom interactions in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in which witnesses testify through an interpreter about translations, attorneys argue through an interpreter about translations and the interpreting, and judges adjudicate on the interpreted testimony and translated evidence.
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Contents; List of Figures and Tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations; The End and the Beginning; Introduction; Part I: The Translators and Interpreters; 1 The Practitioners; 1.1 Field interpreters and language assistants; 1.2 From 'fig leaf' to war crimes court; 1.3 The chronology; 1.4 The workplace; 1.5 Why work at the ICTY?; 1.6 The Language Services Survey; 1.6.1 The most rewarding experience; 1.6.2 The most challenging experience; 1.6.3 Responding to criticism of the tribunal; 1.6.4 Trauma; 1.7 Bias; 2 The Practice; 2.1 The Conference and Language Services Section
2.2 Working in French2.3 The languages of the accused and the witnesses; 2.3.1 B/C/S: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian; 2.3.2 Albanian; 2.3.3 Macedonian; 2.4 Interpreting; 2.4.1 Courtesy; 2.4.2 Praise for interpreters; 2.4.3 Criticism; 2.4.4 Speaking up; 2.4.5 For the record; 2.4.6 'Verbatim'; 2.4.7 Interpreting lacunae; 2.5 ICTY staff on the stand; 2.6 Between interpreting and translating; 2.6.1 Terms for the practitioners; 2.6.2 Professional mobility; 2.7 Translation; 2.7.1 Pre-trial translation; 2.7.2 Document-heavy trials; 2.7.3 The bottleneck; 2.7.4 Duplicate translations
2.7.5 The Document and Video Unit2.7.6 The variety of documents for translation; 2.7.7 Standards for translation accuracy; 2.7.8 Revision; 2.7.9 Challenges to authenticity; 3 Practicalities; 3.1 The translating institution; 3.2 Slow-down requests; 3.2.1 Neutral requests; 3.2.2 Warnings; 3.2.3 Time pressure; 3.2.4 Commending the interpreters; 3.2.5 Requests to slow down emotional testimony; 3.2.6 Courtroom decorum; 3.2.7 Levity; 3.3 Error correction; 3.3.1 Verification memoranda; 3.3.2 Correction routines; 3.3.3 Misunderstandings; 3.3.4 Clarification; 3.4 Annotating translations
5.2.1 Asanacija in Slobodan Miloıevic5.2.2 Asanacija in Krstic; 5.2.3 Asanacija in Popovic  et al.; 5.3 Unmasking a massacre; 5.4 Denial; 6 The Defence; 6.1 Equality of arms; 6.2 Monitoring quality; 6.3 Ownership of language; 6.4 Negotiating meaning, the defence; 6.4.1 Komandant, komandir; 6.4.2 Rukovodjenje; 6.4.3 Negotiating colours; 6.4.4 Stacionar; 6.5 Other defence matters; 6.5.1 Procedural matters and the self-represented accused; 6.5.2 Interpreters and confidentiality; 6.5.3 The interpreter trope; 7 Chambers and the ICTY Legacy; 7.1 The judges; 7.2 The judgements
7.2.1 Trial judgements
How can defendants be tried if they cannot understand the charges being raised against them? Can a witness testify if the judges and attorneys cannot understand what the witness is saying? Can a judge decide whether to convict or acquit if she or he cannot read the documentary evidence? The very viability of international criminal prosecution and adjudication hinges on the massive amounts of translation and interpreting that are required in order to run these lengthy, complex trials, and the procedures for handling the demands facing language services. This book explores the dynamic courtroom interactions in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in which witnesses testify through an interpreter about translations, attorneys argue through an interpreter about translations and the interpreting, and judges adjudicate on the interpreted testimony and translated evidence.
Peace.
Sociolinguistics.
Translation and interpretation.
International organization.
Literature-Translations.
International relations.
Conflict Studies.
Sociolinguistics.
Translation.
International Organization.
Translation Studies.
International Relations.