Vol/51 No/1 2012FEBRUARY/MARCHTheLinguist9CIOL prizewinner Erik Hertogon his contributiontowards the establishment of EU-wide standards inlegal interpreting and translationIn the mid-1990s, I was invited by the FlemishCommunity government, within the context ofa bilateral agreement with South Africa, totrain the people who would be recruiting andtraining interpreters to work for the Truth andReconciliation Commission (TRC). Thesecontacts branched off into collaboration on,and research into, community (and legal)interpreting in South Africa, but it struck usthat we were doing things in SA which wehadn't even begun to develop in Belgium. During a return visit of our SA colleagues toBelgium we organised a (first!) symposium onlegal interpreting and translation at LessiusUniversity College in Antwerp, inviting knownexperts such as Ann Corsellis (CIOL). Thismarked the beginning of a long history ofcollaboration with the Institute of Linguists. Itwas also the foundation of all the ensuingEuropean Union justice projects, because thevery first one -the Aequitas project -grewout of this symposium. Early beginningsIn TL49,4, Christine Wilson gave us a detailedoverview of the long process that led to theEU Directive 2010/64/EU on the Right toInterpretation and Translation in CriminalProceedings being established on 20October 2010. But, perhaps in wanting tostress the importance of the Directive for thefuture of the provision and the profession oflegal interpreters and translators (LITs) in theEU member states, she did not do justice tothe contribution researchers and practitioners,such as herself, made in the preparatory stepsleading up to this achievement. In the 1990s, the treaties of Maastricht (1993)and Amsterdam (1999) introduced justice as amatter of common interest for the EU. Mutualrecognition of judicial decisions and closercooperation in the area of justice became theinstruments to make the EU into 'an area offreedom, security and justice' and to guaranteeall EU citizens equal access to justice. Obviously, and this was realised from thebeginning, this is impossible without therebeing effective and reliable channels ofcommunication in place across languagesand cultures -hence the need for competentLITs. So when, in 1998, the EU Commission'sDirectorate-General for Justice (DG JLS)Seven pillars of wisdomEqual access to justiceis impossible withouteffective channels ofcommunication inplace across languages JUDGEMENTThe Court of Justice in Luxembourg

10 TheLinguistFEBRUARY/MARCHwww.iol.org.ukFEATURESlaunched the first call for action programmes incriminal proceedings (the so-called GROTIUSprogramme), it included an invitation topropose projects on the provision and qualityof LIT as one of the fundamental rights andprocedural safeguards. A number of projectsfollowed, culminating in the 2010 Directive -the first legislation passed by the EU onlanguage issues since its foundation treaty. Key projectsThe first GROTIUS project (98/GR/131),Aequitas, was led by Ann Corsellis and theInstitute of Linguists, and was carried out withme and my colleagues from Belgium, andothers from Spain and Denmark. In my mindit is still the key project among all the ensuingones, and one keeps returning to itsrecommendations because it covered thewhole professional chain of LIT: from thecompetences required, the selection ofstudents, the curriculum, the assessment andcertification, the training of trainers, the codeof ethics and guidelines of good practice, allthe way to the working arrangements withthe legal professionals. Its sequel GROTIUS project, Aequalitas(2001/GRP/015), which I coordinated, aimedto increase awareness of the legal frameworkof LIT and, more specifically, the relevantlandmark case-law of the European Court ofHuman Rights, and, at the same time, todisseminate the Aequitas recommendations torepresentative colleagues from the memberstates (LITs but also lawyers, judges, policeofficers, etc). This project was carried out withcolleagues from the UK (CIOL), Denmark, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Both projects were instrumental in the EUCommission's drafting of the sections on LITin the Green Paper on Procedural Safeguardsfor Suspects and Defendants in CriminalProceedings (February 2003), namely thatmember states must have a system to trainLITs, a certification and registration system, asystem in place to monitor the provision andquality of LIT, and a code of ethics andguidelines for good working practices, as wellas offering training to judges, solicitors andpublic prosecutors on how to work with LITs. Best practiceGROTIUS was succeeded by the DG JLSAGIS programme. The Aequilibrium project(2003/AGIS/048) was coordinated by the ITVHogeschool voor Tolken en Vertalen inUtrecht, with Lessius and the Institute ofLinguists as the 'hardcore' members, andinput from the Czech Republic, Denmark,Greece and Spain. For this project we lookedat bestpractices in LIT and also focused onthe interdisciplinary working arrangementswith other legal professionals. In the meantime, the EU Commission hadmoved forward with the presentation of aProposal for a Council Framework Decision onProcedural Rights in Criminal Proceedings(2004), which was to lead to protracteddiscussions and difficult negotiations. Tosupport the momentum in favour of theProposal, the AGIS project Status Quaestionis:Questionnaire on the Provision of LegalInterpreting and Translation in the EU(JLS/2006/AGIS/052) was launched, which Icoordinated. With the hope of remedyingdiscrepancies and arriving at minimumguaranteed standards in all member states, weprovided detailed and objective informationon the existing provision of LIT in the EU. The core conclusion of this survey wastwofold. Firstly, that sufficient LIT skills andstructures were not yet in place to meet thegoals that all individuals, irrespective oflanguage and culture, have their proceduralright respected in each member state.Secondly, that a process of development todo so was in progress across the EU, albeitvariable in coherence, quality and quantity.The partners in this project were the CIOL, theUniversity of Alicante (Spain) and the Raadvoor Rechtsbijstand (The Netherlands).1Under the current DG JLS Criminal JusticeProgramme (2007-2013), three projects arecontinuing the momentum. The EULITAproject (JLS/2007/JPEN/249) was carried outin response to the need -felt by both theDG JLS and the professional associations -tohave a representative voice speaking for theLITs in the various EU fora, and to enlist theseassociations in the implementation of theProposal. I coordinated the project on behalfof Lessius, together with the CIOL, the LITassociations for Poland (TEPIS), Finland(SKTL) and Spain (APTIJ), AIIC, FIT, and theuniversities of Ljubljana and Heriot-Watt. As a result, EULITA (the European LegalInterpreters and Translators Association) wasestablished in Antwerp on 26 November2009. EULITA represents the interests andconcerns of associations of legal translatorsand interpreters vis-à-vis national andEuropean authorities; promotes theestablishment of LIT associations in memberstates where they do not exist; and promotesclose cooperation with academic institutionsin the field of training and research. Furthermore, EULITA is committed topromoting quality in LIT through therecognition of the professional status of LITs,the exchange of information and bestpractices in training and continuousprofessional development, and theorganisation of events on issues such astraining, research and professionalism. It thuspromotes judicial cooperation and mutual trustbetween the LIT systems of member states.Finally, EULITA promotes best practices inworking arrangements with the legal servicesand legal professions.2A concurrent project in which I participated,Building Mutual Trust (JLS/2007/JPEN/219),was coordinated by CIOL Council memberBrooke Townsley (Middlesex University), withthe assistance of CIOL colleagues HilaryMaxwell-Hyslop and Ann Corsellis, and withpartners from Spain, Denmark, Italy andRomania. The project developed anddisseminated best practice in training bydrawing up an extensive and practicaltreasure-trove of teaching and trainingmaterials, which can serve as templates forsimilar materials in different languages.3The Avidicus project (JLS/2008/JPEN/037)researched interpreted videoconferencing incriminal proceedings, a hot issue not only inThe EULITA projectwas born of the need tohave a representativevoice for the LITs inthe various EU foraMOVING FORWARDErik Hertog makes a speech at the firstTrafut workshop in Ljubljana (left). At theEU Court of Justice are (l-r) its President,Vassilios Skouris; José Manuel Barroso,President of the EC; and Viviane Reding,Vice President of the EC in charge of Justice,Fundamental Rights and Citizenship (right)