Language of Judicial Proceedings

the language in which the preliminary investigation and court hearing of a case are conducted.

According to Article 159 of the Constitution of the USSR, Article 11 of the Basic Principles of Criminal Judicial Procedure, and Article 10 of the Basic Principles of Civil Judicial Procedure, court proceedings in the USSR are conducted in the language of the given Union republic, autonomous republic, autonomous oblast, or autonomous okrug or in the language of the majority of the population in the given locality. Guarantees are provided that’ persons who do not speak the language will be thoroughly acquainted with details of the case and may take part in the judicial proceedings through an interpreter; such persons also have the right to make motions, testify, and address the court in their own language. These provisions guarantee the equality of citizens of all nationalities before the court and enable the public to monitor the actions of judicial bodies and make sure the courts are performing their educational tasks.

In other socialist countries the language of judicial proceedings is governed by the same principles. In most bourgeois countries, however, a single national language is used for conducting judicial proceedings. Rules concerning the use of interpreters do not provide for their participation in all essential cases; moreover, the burden of calling for an interpreter falls on the parties to the proceedings, who must prove the need for the interpreter’s services and pay for them.