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The European Arrest Warrant Some pragmatic and translation aspects

The European Arrest Warrant Some pragmatic and translation aspects. Dolores Ross & Marella Magris Qualetra Final Conference, Antwerp, 16 -17 October 2014. Presentation. 1. The EAW in Belgium and Italy 2. The EAW standard form : structural indicators 3. Linguistic indicators :

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The European Arrest Warrant Some pragmatic and translation aspects

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  1. The European Arrest WarrantSome pragmatic and translation aspects Dolores Ross & MarellaMagris QualetraFinal Conference, Antwerp, 16-17 October 2014

  2. Presentation 1. The EAW in Belgiumand Italy 2. The EAW standard form: structuralindicators 3. Linguisticindicators: • Judicialcore terminology • Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy • Basic syntacticparameters • Discourseindicators and discursivestrategies 4. Participantsin the EAW communication situation 5. Translationof the EAW: best practices and quality assurance 6. Legal translators in Belgium and Italy 7. Concludingremarks

  3. 1. EAW in Belgium and Italy • Belgium: law of 19th December 2003 • Italy: law n. 69 of 22 April 2005 • Most innovative aspect: the EAW is a purely judicial matter, it takes the decision for surrendering out of the hands of politicians. • Italy: Ministry of Justice centralises transmission and reception EAW

  4. 1. EAW in Belgium and Italy After “a few years of teething problems concerning conflict with national constitutional laws, all member states […] are using the instrument and it is thriving. In 2007 the European Commission declared the EAW as a success” (JUSTICE 2012: 7).

  5. 2. The EAW standard form: structural indicators • Art. 8 FD: allMemberStates use identicalform and content. • 9 sections: a – i. • Section d, Legal Guarantees (NL juridischegaranties, IT garanziegiuridiche) and section e, Offences (NL strafbarefeiten, IT reati).

  6. 3. Linguistic indicators of the EAW in Belgian Dutch and Italian 3.1 Judicialcore terminology Legal terminology “is the most visible and striking linguistic feature of legal language as a technical language, and it is also one of the major sources of difficulty in translating legal documents” (Cao 2007: 53).

  7. 3.1 Judicial core terminology Name: • Europeesaanhoudingsbevel, Europeesarrestatiebevel– EAB • Mandato di arresto europeo – MAE Verb: • uitleveren (extradite) -> overleveren (surrender) consegnare

  8. 3.1 Judicial core terminology Legal professions and court structures: • Parket van de procureur des konings • BC kamerbij de correctionelerechtbank • Rechtbank van eersteaanleg • Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale • Procuratore della Repubblica, Sostituto Procuratore della Repubblica • Gip • Gup

  9. 3.1 Judicial core terminology Suspect/requested person de gezochtepersoon- la persona ricercata de betrokkene- l’interessato beklaagde - l’imputato de veroordeeldepersoon- il condannato Defencelawyer raadsman/advocaat – difensore/avvocato Judicialdecision: vonnis/beslissing – decisione (giudiziaria) /provvedimento

  10. 3.2 Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy Conservative character of legallanguage: • at vocabulary level: archaic terms and expressions • at syntactic level: obsolete clauses and constructions • at discourse level: old-fashioned cohesive devices

  11. 3.2 Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy ARCHAISMS • NL in voorkomendgeval, eentegensprekelijkdebat, stuiting van de verjaring • IT in specie. ARCHAIC FUNCTION WORDS • NL indien, betreffende, dewelke • IT ove, ivi, stante

  12. 3.2 Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy LATINISMS • Latin has had a pervasive influence on most legal languages  “a large proportion of the vocabulary of modern legal languages comes from the legal Latin used in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, or the beginning of the Modern Era” (Mattila 2013: 173-4; Tiersma 2008: 12). • Latin still possesses high status in the Western world and is being widely used as a stylistic tool with a display function. NL: modus operandi, IT: in absentia

  13. 3.2 Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy THE FRENCH HERITAGE • The French language has had great prestige and importance in legal language, and the French Civil Code had a tremendous impact throughout continental Europe (Tiersma 2012: 18). • For historical reasons Belgium has been strongly influenced by the French language and culture, and this is clearly manifested in the legal language too (Hendrickx 1999: 20-21).  perhaps the main difference in legal style between the two Dutch sublanguages.

  14. 3.2 Lexicalfeatures: conservatism and redundancy REPETITIONS AND SYNONYMS • Outstanding position of legal English, richly endowed with binary formulae, triplets and other words strings (Mattila2013, etc.). Function: solemnity, dignity, over-cautionousness NL moord en doodslag (murder) IT omicidio volontario NL vrijheidsstraf of tot vrijheidsbenemingstrekkendemaatregel ITpena o misura di sicurezza privative dellalibertà

  15. 3.3 Basic syntactic parameters: long and complex sentence constructions • Among the most obvious syntactic features of legal language is the use of extremely long sentences (Tiersma 2008: 15). • Sentences with complex clausal structure, embedded clauses, etc. • “The layman citizen who wants to explore his rights in judicial documents is often confronted with an unreadable text” (Renkema 2004: 258).

  16. 3.3 Basic syntactic parameters: long and complex sentence constructions Dutch example: Het verzet is een rechtsmiddel waardoor aan een partij, ten aanzien van dewelke door een vonnisgerecht in eerste aanleg of in graad van hoger beroep uitspraak werd gedaan bij verstek, de mogelijkheid geboden wordt om de zaak opnieuw aanhangig te maken bij het vonnisgerecht dat uitspraak deed, teneinde de beslissing te horen intrekken en de zaak andermaal, na een tegensprekelijk debat, te doen beoordelen.

  17. 3.3 Basic syntactic parameters: long and complex sentence constructions Italian: […] veniva condannata in Italia alla pena di anni 6 di reclusione, oltre la pena accessoria perché ritenuta responsabile della violazione degli artt. 74 commi 1, 2, 4, e 5 della l. 685/75 ed art. 74 commi 1, 2, 3, 4 DPR 309/90, per aver, in concorso con altri soggetti di nazionalità italiana, fatto parte di un’associazione finalizzata al traffico illecito di sostanze stupefacenti del tipo eroina, cocaina, extasy ed hashish, l’organizzazione della quale la condannata faceva parte gestiva il mercato della droga in Milano […]

  18. 3.3 Basic syntactic parameters: long and complex sentence constructions • importando ingenti quantitativi dello stupefacente dai paesi di produzione, la droga veniva poi confezionata negli Stati Uniti d’America e smerciata in Italia, in specie […] era diretta fiduciaria del correo […] gestiva i proventi del traffico internazionale degli stupefacenti, ed era la destinataria di tutti i messaggi funzionali all’attività operativa dell’organizzazione durante la detenzione di […] organizzazione armata composta da più di dieci persone operante in Milano dalla fine del 1970 al 1993.

  19. 3.3. Basic syntactic parameters: clause-internal features PARTICIPLE SYNTAX NL Verkrachting zijndeelke daad van seksuele penetratie van welke aard ook en met welk middel ook, op een persoon die daar niet in toestemt, de daad met name opgedrongen zijnde door middel van geweld, dwang of list of mogelijk gemaakt zijnde door een onvolwaardigheid of een lichamelijk of geestelijk gebrek van het slachtoffer. IT .. organizzazione armata composta da più di dieci persone operantein Milano dalla fine del 1970 al 1993

  20. 3.3 Basic syntacticparameters: passive voice and nominal style Both passive and nominal constructions promote an impersonal style. Judges and legislators tend to speak in the third person. EAW introductoryparagraph: NL Ik verzoek om aanhouding en overlevering van de hieronder genoemde persoon met het oog op strafvervolging of tenuitvoerlegging van een vrijheidsstraf IT Chiedo che la persona menzionata appresso sia arresta e consegnata ai fini dell’espiazione della pena privativa della libertà.

  21. 3.4 Discourseindicators and discursivestrategies • NL dit bevel • IT ilpresente(mandato), tale (taligaranzie), siffatto (siffattapena). Differences in discursive practices in Belgian Dutch: Op X december bleef het 15-jarig slachtoffer samen met haar moeder overnachten bij hun tante. XXX was daar eveneens aanwezig en wordt beschouwd als ‘nonkel’. Iedereensliep in de living.

  22. Summarizing 3.3-3.4 • Typical syntactic and discourse features in the Belgian and Italian EAWs: long and complex sentences, embedding constructions, a high degree of participle syntax, passive voice in Italian. • Need for plainlanguageprinciples (Mattila 2012: 33, Tiersma 2008: 24). • NL een beklaagde die […] niet zelf of vertegenwoordigd door zijn raadsman is verschenen, kan […] in zijn afwezigheid veroordeeld worden [‘bij verstek’].

  23. 4. Participants in the EAW communication situation Participants • Producer of the source text: judicial authority of the issuing Member State • Translator • Receiver: competent judicial authority of the executing Member State • Person wanted for prosecution Professional relationship between the people taking part in the EAW communication activity Communicative purpose

  24. 5. Translation of the EAW: best practices and quality assurance • The scarcity of translation capacity in some Member States, associated costs, difficulties in translation into some of the less common languages in short periods of time or the bad quality of translations are recurrent arguments (Evaluation Report Council European Union 2009: 10). • Often, judges and prosecutors are “visibly wary” of the quality of translations they deal with, especially in the most common languages such as English or French (De Sousa Santos & Gomes 2010: 110-111)

  25. 5. Translation of the EAW: best practices and quality assurance • Major problem - the organization or consolidation of reliable high-quality translation services at a national level and the availability of a reliable Europe-wide source of translated and original legal texts on these matters. (De Sousa Santos & Gomes 2010: 101-102). • Another important issue - communication between legal practitioners and translators

  26. 5. Translation of the EAW: best practices and quality assurance • Need for effective communication • English translation? • Up to now, translation “tends to be approached in a strongly reductionist way. It is generally speaking approached as a ‘tool’, as a service” (Lambert 2009: 76) • Trend towards a more collaborative translation model .

  27. 5. Translation of the EAW: best practices and quality assurance • Endorsementof the “application of plain, legal-language principles to improve target language readability and render more elegant and useful translations” (Wolff 2011: 237). • the translatorisgraduallybecoming a knowledge manager, called on to performhigherorderskills of textual and discoursecompetence, with increasing use of genre-basedcompetences, therebygenerating ‘intellectual capital’ (Risku et al., 2010: 88-89).

  28. 6. Legal translators in Belgium and Italy • In Belgium, there is currently no centralised official database of interpreters and translators. • There are‘lists’ of legal interpreters and translators, which are drawn up by different courts on different levels: national, regional or local (Hertog 2001: 10). • In May 2014, the Belgian Parliament has approved a proposal for the creation of a national register.

  29. 6. Legal translators in Belgium and Italy • “Italy has no national database of translators or interpreters. This is to give the Italian judiciary the freedom to choose translators and interpreters as they see fit” https://ejustice.europa.eu/content_find_a_legal_translator_or_an_interpreter-116-it-en.do?member=1 • The Italian law implementing the Directive 2010/64/EU has adopted a “shortcut” solution: instead of creating a national register, it has only introduced the requirement that experts in translation and interpretation must be enrolled in the register of experts (Albodeiperiti) maintained by each Court.

  30. 6. Legal translators in Belgium and Italy • The prerequisites to enroll in these registers vary from place to place. Very heterogeneous quality levels will probably continue to characterize the field of legal translation in Italy, at least in the foreseeable future. • However, translation of the EAWsisdone by internaltranslators of the ItalianMinistry of Justice

  31. 7. Concludingremarks Legal translation plays a significant role in our age of globalization “where the mobility of persons, goods, services, and capital across borders has changed the dynamics of law, forcing legal professionals to communicate in a wide variety of multilingual and multicultural settings” (Šarčević2012: 187)

  32. 7. Concludingremarks “For centuries the translator has been viewed as a solitary figure working in isolation, pondering over words and sentences. Within a few years his/her workplace was then transformed by terminological databanks, MT-systems, the Internet with its attendant tools and all the other technological developments that are still being updated at an ever-increasing rate” (Snell-Hornby 2010: 368)

  33. Dank u vooruwaandacht! Grazie della vostra attenzione!

  34. References • BednarekGrazyna, 2009, ‘Translation of the European Arrest Warrant in the Light of Intercultural Communication’, InvestigationesLinguisticae, vol, XVII, pp. 84-99. • Cao Deborah, 2007, Translating Law, Clevedon: Multilingal matters. • De Sousa Santos Boaventura & Conseiçao Gomez (eds.), 2010, The European Arrest Warrant in law and in practice: a comparative study for the consolidation of the European law-enforcement area, 2010, EUEurojust, 2010, Versione riveduta del manuale europeo sull’emissione del mandato d’arresto europeo. • Eurojust, 2011, JaarverslagEurojust 2010. • Gotti Maurizio, 2012, ‘Text and Genre’, Lawrence M. Solan & Peter M. Tiersma (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, 52-66. • Hertog Erik (ed.), 2001, Aequitas. Access to Justice across Language and Culture in the EU, http://www.eulita.eu/sites/default/files/Aequitas_Acces%20to%20Justice%20across%20Language%20and%20Culture%20in%20the%20EU.pdf

  35. References • HiltunenRisto, 2012,’ The grammar and structure of legal texts’, Lawrence M. Solan & Peter M. Tiersma (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, 39-51. • JUSTICE, 2012, European Arrest Warrants. Ensuring an effective defence. • KatschinkaLiese, 2013, Vademecum for users of legal translations. • KocbekAlenka, 2009,’ A Targeted Approach to Legal Translation’, Susan Šarčević(ed.), Legal language in Action : Translation, Terminology, Drafting and Procedural Issues, Zagreb: Nakladnizavod Globus, 43-62. • Lambert José, 2009, ‘The Status and Position of Legal Translation: a Chapter in the Discursive Construction of Societies’, in: Frances Olsen, Alexander Lorz, Dieter Stein (eds.), Translation Issues in Language and Law, Palgrave Macmillan, London,76-93. • MartínezMotos Raquel & AdelinaGómez Gónzáles-Jóver, 2009, Anisomorphism in the translation of Legal Texts, in Sarcevic ed. 61-72. • MattilaHeikki E.S., 2012, ‘Legal vocabulary’, Peter M. Tiersma & Lawrence M. Solan (eds), Language and Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 27-39.

  36. References • MattilaHeikki E.S., 2013, Comparative Legal Linguistics, Ashgate, Farnham, Surrey. • RiskuH., Dickinson, A., & Pircher, R. (2010). ‘Knowledge in Translation Studies and translation practice’. In D. Gile, G. Hansen, & N. Pokorn (Eds.), Why Translation Studies matters (pp. 83–94). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. • ŠarčevićSusan, 2012, ‘Challenges to the legal translator’, Lawrence M. Solan & Peter M. Tiersma (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, 187-199. • Snell-Hornby Mary, 2010, ‘The turns of Translation Studies’, Yves Gambier & Luc van Doorslaer (eds.), Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 1, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins, 366-370. • Tiersma Peter M., 2008, ‘The nature of legal language’, John Gibbons & M. Teresa Turell (eds), Dimensions of forensic linguistics, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins, 7-25. • TiersmaPeter M., 2012, ‘A history of the languages of law’, Lawrence M. Solan & Peter M. Tiersma (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, 17- • Wolff Leon, 2011,’’Legal Translation’, in Kirsten Malmkjar & Kevin Windle (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies, 228-241.

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