Translator and interrogation
Translator and interrogation
Swiss criminal procedure is governed by a number of fundamental principles that benefit defendants in particular. In particular, in the context of a police hearing as described in your question, the right to request the assistance of a translator or interpreter is guaranteed by article 158 of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) and must be expressly communicated to the person concerned by the investigator in charge of the case. This is commonly referred to as the "right to linguistic assistance". Generally speaking, access to language assistance is a fundamental principle of criminal procedure at all stages of the investigation, in accordance with article 68 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It is worth pointing out in this context that the intervention and assistance of an interpreter is free of charge at all stages of the criminal proceedings, regardless of the financial situation of the accused or the likely outcome of the proceedings. In other words, the fact that the defendant has considerable personal wealth or no chance of success in his case has no bearing on whether or not linguistic assistance is granted.As interpreters and translators play an important role in the smooth running of criminal proceedings, Geneva has a "Directive concerning interpreters and translators employed by the judiciary", which precisely regulates the terms and conditions of their services, from their necessary qualifications to their remuneration and the manner in which they must behave at hearings.
