Court Appointed Interpreter for the English Language
A court appointed interpreter will certify translated documents and reports such as:
- Audit reports
- Various permits
- Legal documents
- Court statements or affidavits
- Various contracts
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Other various legal certificates
- School certificates
- Confirmations
- Transcriptions of school results
- Transcriptions of records, etc.
The Regulation on Court Appointed Interpreters
A court appointed interpreter for the English language translates upon request by the courts, government bodies, legal entities or citizens, spoken or written texts from Croatian into English and vice-versa.
The Ministry of Justice has issued “The Regulation on Court Appointed Interpreters” (Official Gazette no. 88/08) which explains in detail the conditions that translators must fulfil in order to carry out the job of a court appointed interpreter.
A person fulfils the conditions for being a court appointed interpreter if they, besides the general conditions prescribed for acceptance into government service, also fulfil the following special conditions:
- Have a knowledge of the Croatian language,
- Also possess a comprehensive knowledge of a foreign language,
- A knowledge of the constitution of judicial authority, government administration and legal terms,
- A successfully completed tertiary degree.
The Courts Act on court appointed interpreters
Article 137 of the stated Act cites the following:
- A court appointed interpreter translates upon request by the courts, government bodies, legal entities or citizens, spoken or written texts from Croatian into a foreign language, from a foreign language into Croatian, or from one foreign language into another.
- A person can be appointed as a court interpreter if they have completed a tertiary degree, have a complete knowledge of an appropriate foreign language and the language in official use, and have a satisfactory level of general and legal knowledge.
- Court interpreters are appointed for a period of four years and dismissed by the president of the County or Commercial Court. Upon expiration of the four-year period, such interpreters may be appointed once again.
- Against a decision rejecting the request for appointment as a court interpreter, the applicant maintains the right to lodge an appeal with the Ministry of Justice within 15 days of such a decision.
- The Minister of Justice shall in accordance with the respective regulation, prescribe the manner of determining as to whether a person fulfils the conditions for appointment as a court interpreter, their rights and obligations, and the fees and costs for such work.
- The County or Commercial Courts maintain a registry of court interpreters appointed to their respective territories.
- The registry of court appointed interpreters for all courts is published as required by the Ministry of Justice in the “Official Gazette”.