Analisis crítico de la interpretación judicial en España y a nivel internacional

Abstract

Spain is one of the countries in the European Union where there is neither legislation nor regulation that determines whether individuals acting as court interpreters are qualified to perform their job proficiently or not. Indeed, Spain is one of few cases in which the legality of the profession of court interpreting is not kept in check. Consequently, there is no way of knowing whether a court interpreter is proficient and able to interpret efficiently in a trial or at a police station. Thus, an inefficient interpreting task may have negative consequences as a result. This paper analyses the situation of the profession of court interpreters in Spain with a particular emphasis on the status of the profession in comparison with the United Kingdom and the United States. Furthermore, this paper examines the importance of the concept of professionalization by studying the degree achieved by the profession of court interpreting as observed by the different traits from certification to professional organizations. The results show a big difference between the three analyzed countries. In contrast to the United Kingdom and the United States, where the profession has achieved a high degree of recognition, professionally adequate court interpreting services have not yet been provided in Spain.