Court Interpreting in Indonesia: An Interdisciplinary Critical Review of Linguistic Accuracy and Legal Integrity in Foreign-Language Judicial Proceedings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71131/r06db411Abstract
The increasing involvement of foreign-language speakers and documents in Indonesian court proceedings has brought renewed attention to the role of court interpreting within the administration of justice. In judicial settings, interpreting does not merely facilitate communication but actively shapes how facts are constructed, understood, and evaluated by legal actors. This article presents an interdisciplinary Critical Literature Review that examines court interpreting practices in Indonesia by foregrounding the relationship between linguistic accuracy and legal integrity in foreign-language judicial proceedings. Focusing on Indonesia-focused primary studies, the review synthesizes findings from applied linguistics and legal scholarship to identify recurring issues in courtroom interpreting, including the procedural status of translated documents, the practical limits of verbatim accuracy, institutional constraints faced by interpreters, and divergent judicial approaches to language compliance. The analysis demonstrates that linguistic accuracy functions as a procedural and epistemic condition rather than a purely technical concern, with direct implications for evidentiary assessment and procedural fairness. At the same time, the review reveals a persistent gap between the epistemic responsibility borne by court interpreters and the limited regulatory and institutional frameworks governing their role in Indonesian courts. The article argues that strengthening legal integrity in foreign-language cases requires clearer standards for courtroom interpreting, improved institutional support, and sustained interdisciplinary engagement between linguists and legal practitioners to ensure that language mediation effectively safeguards due process in Indonesia’s increasingly multilingual judicial landscape.
Keywords:
Court Interpreting, Legal Translation, Linguistic Accuracy, Legal Integrity, Indonesian CourtsDownloads
References
Adjie, H. (2021). Legal implications of language compliance in Indonesian judicial proceedings. Jurnal Hukum dan Pembangunan, 51(2), 245–262.
Aziz, A., Prasetyo, B., & Ramadhan, F. (2023). The legal status of translated documents in Indonesian courts: Linguistic accuracy and evidentiary admissibility. Journal of Law, Language, and Justice, 6(1), 33–49.
Berk-Seligson, S. (2002). The bilingual courtroom: Court interpreters in the judicial process (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Cahyono, B. Y. (2019). Literature review sebagai metodologi penelitian. Jurnal Kajian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 3(1), 1–10.
Fuller, L. L. (1969). The morality of law (2nd ed.). Yale University Press.
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Hale, S. B. (2004). The discourse of court interpreting. John Benjamins.
Hale, S. B., & Napier, J. (2016). Research methods in interpreting: A practical resource. Bloomsbury Academic.
Hulu, F., & Ambalegin, A. (2024). Challenges in courtroom interpreting: Evidence from Indonesian judicial settings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching, 11(1), 67–82.
Lee, J. (2009). Conflicting views on court interpreting examined through surveys of legal professionals and court interpreters. Interpreting, 11(1), 35–56. https://doi.org/10.1075/intp.11.1.03lee
Murtaya, A., & Triyono, S. (2018). Interpreter strategies and accuracy in courtroom interaction. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 345–356. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v8i2.13310
Ngarambe, J., & Ruvebana, E. (2023). Language, legal interpretation, and access to justice in multilingual courts. International Journal of Law, Language & Discourse, 13(2), 45–62.
Pratiwi, R. A. (2025). Judicial approaches to language compliance and translation in Indonesian courts. Indonesian Journal of Constitutional and Administrative Law, 12(1), 89–104.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Xiao, Y., & Watson, M. (2017). Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 37(1), 93–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971