Cairo, 30 September 2024
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Facing Challenges in Translating International Criminal Law: Witness Statements as a Case Study
In 2021 and beyond, an international judicial body entrusted me with translating into Arabic witness statements related to international crimes. These statements were extremely detailed, with interrogators asking witnesses for precise descriptions of numerous individuals, as well as their degrees of kinship with the witnesses and others.
Given the critical importance of these translations as evidence in the cases under consideration, I made every effort to ensure the utmost accuracy. The statements contained some ambiguities, such as the word "cousin," which is highly generic in English. This term presented a challenge as I sought clues to determine the exact kinship in Arabic, where there are eight distinct terms for cousin: "ابن عم" (son of paternal uncle), "ابنة عم" (daughter of paternal uncle), "ابن عمة" (son of paternal aunt), "ابنة عمة" (daughter of paternal aunt), "ابن خال" (son of maternal uncle), "ابنة خال" (daughter of maternal uncle), "ابن خالة" (son of maternal aunt), and "ابنة خالة" (daughter of maternal aunt).
Oxford dictionary also indicates that "cousin" can have a broader meaning, which in Arabic can be expressed as "قريب" (relative). It defines "cousin" as "a person who is in your wider family but who is not closely related to you," for example: "She's some sort of cousin, I think."
Arabic translators handle this word in different ways. Some translate it as "قريب" (relative), others as "أحد أبناء العمومة" (one of the parental cousins or the like relatives), and some use their own judgment, opting for "ابن عم" (son of paternal uncle) as an approximation. In audiovisual subtitling, the word is sometimes omitted altogether. However, when it comes to evidence presented to a court in an international case, a solution is needed that eliminates ambiguity and ensures absolute accuracy.
For this reason, it was essential to inform the authors of the written statements about the issue and request that they specify the degree of kinship with precision. The English language allows this level of specificity. For instance, if one says, "son of maternal uncle," it clearly corresponds to "ابن الخال" in Arabic. Although this may not be the most natural way to express kinship in English, it ensures clarity in both the source and target languages. This suggestion was well-received, and I hope authors of such documents will continue to follow this practice in the future.
In the course of translating the Commentary on the Law of the International Criminal Court (CLICC), which my team completed in 2022, we highlighted several ambiguities and oversights in the original English text. The authors welcomed our input and made the necessary corrections. The outcome was two texts—one in English and one in Arabic—both free from errors. The editor-in-chief of the English Commentary acknowledged this effort in the preface to the second edition.
During a lecture at Ain Shams University's Faculty of Languages, I shared a similar experience that led to a change in the English writing style of an international organization. I may recount this story in a future article.
The key point here is that a translator’s role is not simply the final step in the preparation of a document or piece of evidence, as in this case, but rather as an active participant in its development. Translators also act as cultural mediators, specializing in the target language and its associated culture.
‘‘A translator’s role is not simply the final step in the preparation of a document or piece of evidence, as in this case, but rather as an active participant in its development.’’
‘‘A translator’s role is not simply the final step in the preparation of a document or piece of evidence, as in this case, but rather as an active participant in its development.’’
In many cases, such as this one, the translator cannot merely serve as a neutral conveyor of content, bearing no responsibility for the clarity or ambiguity of what they translate. Instead, they become part of a larger team, playing a role that contributes to achieving the ultimate goal of the translation process, beyond just completing immediate tasks.
It is worth noting that this discussion does not cover intentional ambiguities, or what is often referred to as "constructive ambiguity," which may be present in the original text, as in the case of UN Security Council Resolution 242. The drafting and translation of that resolution into Arabic were discussed in a previous article, where the translator’s role in such situations was also addressed.
Note: This article is originally written in Arabic.
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