Migration, Justice and Human Rights in Italy: The importance of community- and legal interpreting in safeguarding migrants’ rights alongside the safety of the community

Abstract

This chapter argues that the provision of reliable legal interpreting and translation services are essential to safeguard the rights of individuals and the safety of the community. The chapter presents an overview of the current state of affairs in legal interpreting in Italy, showing how the blatant disregard for interpreting services has led to serious miscarriages of justice, and how lax recruitment criteria can jeopardize the safety of individuals and the community. The chapter offers recommendations on how to train and recruit translators and interpreters safely by describing a continuous development course that was set up by the author at the University of Bologna in 2014.