The Right to Assistance of an Interpreter in the Federal and Oromia Regional State Courts: An Assessment of the Legal Recognition and Practice During Civil Proceedings

Abstract

This article critically examines the legal frameworks regulating
language interpretation and its practice in selected federal and Oromia
Regional State regular courts across different tiers. The paper employs
a qualitative research approach, gathering data from Addis Ababa and
Adama cities through interviews, observations of court proceedings,
case analysis, and legal and literature reviews. The federal courts use
Amharic, while the Oromia region courts use Afaan Oromo as their
working languages. The Federal Courts Proclamation and directives
recognize the right to qualified interpreters at the state's expense
during civil proceedings. However, in practice, there is a shortage of
qualified interpreters in federal courts. As a result, courts often rely on
volunteer administrative workers and individuals from outside the
court staff. There are no competency certification or monitoring
standards in place to ensure the quality of interpretation. Although the
federal court establishment proclamation promised to set up
interpreters' office, no such office has been established to date. In
Oromia, there is no law that clearly enjoins the state to provide
interpreters in civil lawsuits. In practice, litigants represented by an
attorney often overcome the language barrier. The courts also provide
interpreters for litigants who cannot secure their own. In certain
circumstances, courts conduct oral hearings in Amharic to expedite
trials. Hence, linguistic accessibility in civil proceedings requires both
legal and practical reforms.
Keywords: civil proceedings, language interpreter, state obligation,
Federal courts, Oromia courts