Advice to judges on language/Englische Richter bekommen Empfehlungen zur Ausdrucksweise

Ein Buch für Richter ist in England veröffentlicht worden mit Vorschlägen zur korrekten Ausdrucksweise, berichtet die Guardian (Englisch). Sogar der Ausdruck asylum seeker (Asylbewerber) wird meist negativ benutzt.

Das Buch ist kostenlos online zu bekommen.

The Guardian reported on Thursday that the Judicial Studies Board has issued a book with recommendations on the sensitive use of language.

Frowned upon are asylum seeker, man and wife, girl (except for children) and businessman. A black should be called a black person (says the Guardian).

The book is available free of charge online.

It is not only about language. I have not looked at much. There is something about interpreters in the first section:

bq. An interpreter may be necessary even if the witness is able to communicate in English / Welsh to some degree: the language employed in judicial proceedings is so specialised in comparison to communicating in adequate English/Welsh in order to get by on a daily basis.

bq. Common words may have different meanings according to the understanding of the speaker.

bq. Always establish that the interpreter speaks not only the language but the dialect of the witness.

bq. The same interpreter may no longer be appropriate for opposing parties.

bq. There are serious dangers in allowing an advocate, friend or family member to act as an interpreter and whenever possible the interpreter must be
professionally engaged and ideally from an officially approved list.

bq It should not be assumed that an interpreter can continue without regular breaks: it is a very demanding process if done correctly, so allow an opportunity to indicate when a break is needed.

bq. A party may need the assistance of an interpreter throughout the proceedings, beforehand when giving instructions and afterwards when receiving an explanation as to what has transpired. An interpreter or translation of documents may be required to understand the documentation in proceedings. Failure to ensure this could amount to a denial of justice.

bq. To the extent that it is difficult for those with learning difficulties or inadequate language skills to understand the language employed in the court room, all efforts should be made to communicate in a manner comprehensible to the parties before you.

(Thanks to Maurice H. Varney for the links)

One thought on “Advice to judges on language/Englische Richter bekommen Empfehlungen zur Ausdrucksweise

  1. The Guardian Article: I doubt differentiating between ‘people with learning difficulties’ and the vague phrase ‘people with disablities’ (physical or legal ? – i.e. persons under legal disability = minors & lunatics)will help clarify matters.

    Also if the Lord Chief Justice is concerned about minorities, he also ought to be concerned about the majority of London Transport passengers when I – as a Fellow Inner Templar – have seen one of his tall Barrister sons queue-barge at the bus-stop outside Charing Cross British Rail Station.

    He’s not the only one. When back in London, I’ve seen members of ‘Magic-Circle’ City Firms of Solicitors using exactly the same pushing-in tactics.

    Might be a trivial point, but shows up a Human Rights ‘practise-what-you-preach’ paradox.

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