Interpreters cost millions of euros at administrative courts
Millions of euros have been spent on interpreters and translators at the four administrative courts, the Administrative Court in Mannheim and initial reception facilities over the past five years. This is the result of an AfD inquiry to the Ministry of Justice. The five courts alone incurred costs of around 8.2 million euros between January 1, 2019 and October 15, 2023.
The costs incurred for interpreters as part of the initial reception in the administrative districts run into the hundreds of thousands. Interpreters are paid by the regional councils. In the administrative district of Stuttgart, translation work in the initial reception facilities is carried out by in-house employees or volunteers with language skills. The Social Welfare Office of the City of Stuttgart has a budget of 183,000 euros per year for interpreting assignments. The city and district authorities also rely primarily on the language skills of their own staff or on volunteer interpreters.
When searching for a suitable interpreter, judges can use the nationwide interpreter and translator database of the Hessian Ministry of Justice. This is a platform of the state justice administrations, which is managed by Hesse.
In its response to the AfD inquiry, the Ministry of Justice pointed out that language mediators are not recorded according to the languages interpreted.
According to the Federal Association of Interpreters, translators work with the written word, for example when texts are to be translated into another language. Interpreters work with the spoken word.
The lack of specific tracking of interpreted languages by the Ministry of Justice raises concerns about the transparency of justice processes related to language services. Ensuring justice processes are equally accessible to all, regardless of language, is a fundamental principle of the legal system.
Source: www.dpa.com
