LO
Policy mandateCognitive automation2010-10-26
Interpretation in EU criminal proceedings shall be of a quality sufficient to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings, under Directive 2010/64/EU
Interpreteroccupation page →
Event date / reported
2010-10-26
Evidence stage
Policy mandateRegulation, subsidy or public procurement is requiring or funding adoption — the mirror of a constraint. It shows adoption is being required, not that it has happened, so one mandate is never enough on its own; two independent ones are.
Tasks this bears on
Court and legal interpreting
Interpreting for defendants, witnesses and parties in courts and police proceedings.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
European Union. The directive says interpretation provided under it shall be of a quality sufficient to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings, in particular by ensuring that suspected or accused persons know the case against them and can exercise their right of defence, and that member states shall endeavour to establish registers of appropriately qualified independent interpreters and translators. It sets a quality standard, not a rule against machines; member states implement it in their own law.
What this means
Across the EU, criminal-proceeding interpretation is judged by whether it keeps the trial fair — a bar any machine would have to clear.
What it does not yet show
A directive that sets a standard; how each country applies it, and whether it allows machines, varies.
What you can check
Open Directive 2010/64/EU and find "quality sufficient to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (Official Journal L 280, 26 October 2010; text from the EU Publications Office) · verified 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.