Effective participation: Forensic linguistics

As a result of the 2004 SC v UK (ECHR 263) case, the European Court of Human Rights set out that a condition for a fair trial is the ‘effective participation’ in the trial, which means that the person has a broad understanding of the nature of the proceedings and is assisted if necessary.

This requirement of meaningful participation and understanding has since been promulgated by the Council of Europe in the 2010 Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice. However, the judicial process from point of arrest, through interview, charge, trial and sentencing is substantially linguistic. Thus, in order for a child, or other vulnerable person, to obtain a fair trial, they must be able to fully understand the content and implications of that linguistic judicial process. Unfortunately, all too often, that understanding is not achieved.

Many scholars in the field of forensic linguistics are researching aspects of that judicial process, such as the language of police (and other) interviews of witnesses (eg Johnson, 2007) and suspects (eg Haworth, 2006). Others concentrate specifically on issues of language disadvantage in interviews and the linguistic experiences of vulnerable witnesses through the legal system (eg Aldridge and Wood, 1998).

For more information on such studies and on forensic linguistics generally see Aston University’s Centre for Forensic Linguistics.

References

Aldridge, M, and Wood, J (1998). Interviewing Children: A Guide for Child Care and Forensic Practitioners. London: Wiley.

Haworth, K, (2006). The dynamics of power and resistance in police interview discourse. Discourse and Society, 17, 739 - 759.

Johnson, A (2007). Producing the voice of the victim: the role of the interviewer investigating sexual offences Forensic Linguistics. The International Journal of Speech Language and the Law: Forensic Linguistics, 14(1).