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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:

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) 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.

(5) 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.

(6) The County or Commercial Courts maintain a registry of court interpreters appointed to their respective territories.

(7) The registry of court appointed interpreters for all courts is published as required by the Ministry of Justice in the “Official Gazette”.

Tags: court interpreter, regulation on court appointed interpreters (Official Gazette no. 88/08), Ministry of Justice, Courts Act, county court, commercial court