The role of language in the Justice system took centre stage during the Linguistic Human Rights Public Lecture, delivered by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya at the Walter Sisulu University in Mthata, Eastern Cape.
The Lecture hosted by the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), under the theme ‘Language rights as a means to accessing justice’, invited key role players from various sectors to deliberate on multilingualism, access to language rights and their integration into judiciary processes among other objectives.
Justice Maya started her presentation by reminding attendees about the crucial role of language diversity in the judicial administration.
“It serves as the foundation of communication, facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and evidence within the judicial process. Effective communication between judicial officers, legal representatives and litigants, depends on language to ensure a clear understanding of the law and court proceedings. Language is therefore a critical determinant of access to justice. Litigants who fully comprehend communication in the legal space feel more empowered and confident navigating the legal system and engage more proactively in court processes”, Justice Maya explained.
Her sentiments were echoed by the President of the Black Lawyers Association, Nkosana Mvundlela, who assured that they continue to use home languages during consultations with clients especially those in rural areas.
Nkosana added that the use of English is just to foster better communication and understanding due to its official recognition in court settings.
He however, bemoaned the lack of budgetary mechanisms towards the implementation of constitutional obligations related to language use.
Nkosana attributed most language gaps in the legal fraternity to some flaws in the constitution, making an example with the use of translation services.
“The principle applied in the clause that empowers interpreters in court should’ve instead stated that everyone has the right to proceed by engaging the court directly with their language of choice, instead of allowing them to do so through being assisted with translation by another individual”, he added.
Meanwhile, in her closing remarks, Justice Maya challenged all stakeholders to ramp up reforms to ensure that the language rights of all citizens are protected.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya is presently giving a public lecture on the theme “Language rights as a means to accessing justice.” The lecture aims to tackle the problem of the dominance of English within the judiciary, leading to relegating the use of indigenous African languages to the periphery
