LEGAL STATUS AND CURRENT CHALLENGES OF INTERPRETERS' PARTICIPATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN UKRAINE AND POLAND: A COMPARATIVE ASPECT

Анотація

As a participant in criminal proceedings, the interpreter plays an important role in realizing the right of access to court, guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It is the interpreter who is responsible for establishing proper communication between the parties to the criminal proceedings and ensuring fair and effective adversarial proceedings in cases where one or more participants do not speak the language of the proceedings. The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the role, functions, legal status, and characteristics of the professional activity of translators in criminal procedural legal relations in Ukraine and the Republic of Poland. Given the steady and dynamic processes of globalization in the world, as well as the significant intensification of cooperation and growing integration between the two countries in many areas, this study is particularly relevant and practical. The authors draw attention to the similarities and differences in the legal status of interpreters as participants in criminal proceedings, comparing the procedural legislation of Ukraine and Poland. Thus, it was found that the Ukrainian Criminal Procedure Code describes the procedural legal capacity of interpreters in much greater detail and regulates their rights and obligations more thoroughly. In contrast, Polish legislation on these issues is not limited to the provisions of criminal procedural law, but applies a special law that focuses on the professional activities of translators. The article also compares and analyzes the pros and cons of both government approaches to setting standards, qualifications, and ethical requirements for professional translators who can be involved in criminal proceedings as fully-fledged participants. Based on the comparative analysis, the authors outline a list of urgent problems and current challenges in the field of translation in criminal proceedings. Theoretical and practical recommendations are provided on potential ways to resolve these issues.