In criminal cases, a list of interpreters/translators is available to members of the judiciary and court personnel. This list is kept and maintained by the Criminal Court Registry. In preparation for the entry into force of the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, the above list has recently been added to the Court Services available online.
When the services of an interpreter or translator are required during criminal proceedings, one is appointed by a magistrate. The existence of the abovementioned list above does not preclude a magistrate from ignoring it entirely and appointing any other person whom they consider suitable to perform interpretation or translation duties. The name of the person thus appointed is subsequently added to the list. For further information, please write to ‘The Criminal Court Registrar, Courts of Justice, Valletta, Malta’.
In civil cases, the parties may appoint a translator or interpreter of their choice, and the cost of doing so is borne by the party who requires these services. The court administration has no involvement in this process. However, the civil courts may make use of the list available to the criminal courts, which is available to the public online as stated above.
Malta’s list of translators and interpreters is also contained in the Courts’ Legal Case Management (LECAM) IT system, which is generally for the sole use of court personnel and members of the legal profession. However, the general public may access the LECAM system in respect of civil cases on computers maintained at the court registries.
Additions to the experts' list are made by court officers authorised to maintain this database. Entries for individual experts are linked to the court case for which they have been appointed to offer their professional services.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.