ABSTRACT
This chapter extracts language fair trial rights from selected minimum guarantees of a fair criminal trial in the African context. These guarantees include the right of the accused person to information on the nature of charges; the presumption of innocence; the right to adequate facilities to prepare a defence; the right to free interpretative assistance; presence and legal representation of the accused person; and examination and cross-examination of witnesses. It examines the shortfalls of judicial translation and interpreting, such as shortage of (professional) interpreters, the complexity of evaluating interpretative performance, and distortions. Of note is the significance of language fair trial rights to the key informative processes of plea taking and confession.
