Language

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Código do Processo Penal de Timor-Leste

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

PART I
ON THE GENERAL PART

TITLE III
ON PROCEDURAL PARTICIPANTS

CHAPTER VI
ON SUSPECTS, DEFENDANTS AND CONVICTS

Article 63
Persons to conduct and attend the first questioning of the defendant under arrest

3. The questioning is attended by the person conducting it, the public prosecutor, the defender, the interpreter and the official tasked with taking precautionary security measures, when required, in addition to the official entrusted with putting the statements to writing.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

PART I
ON THE GENERAL PART

TITLE IV
ON PROCEDURAL ACTS

CHAPTER II
ON THE TIME SCHEDULE, FORM AND DOCUMENTATION OF PROCEEDINGS

Article 82
The language to be used in the acts

1. Under penalty of nullity, procedural acts shall be performed using an official language of Timor-Leste.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

PART I
ON THE GENERAL PART

TITLE IV
ON PROCEDURAL ACTS

CHAPTER II
ON THE TIME SCHEDULE, FORM AND DOCUMENTATION OF PROCEEDINGS

Article 83
Appointing an interpreter

1. An interpreter shall be appointed where a person, who does not either know or master the official language in use, is to make a statement.

2. In addition to the situation referred to in the preceding article, the appointment of an interpreter is compulsory :

(a) if it is necessary to translate a document written in a language other than one of the official languages of Timor-Leste or if such a document is not accompanied by a certified translation ;
(b) if a hearing-impaired person who cannot read, a speaking-impaired person who cannot write, or a hearing- and speaking-impaired person who cannot either read or write, is to make a statement.

2. The appointed interpreter takes the following oath : << I undertake, on my honour, to faithfully fulfil the role that has been entrusted to me >>

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

PART IV
ON FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 354
Requirements for confirmation

1. In order for a criminal sentence imposed by a foreign court to be confirmed, the following requirements need to be met :

(d) that the defendant has been assisted by a defender and, where the defendant was not familiar with the language used in the proceeding, also by an interpreter ;

Rome Statute

Article 50 Official and working languages

1. The official languages of the Court shall be Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The judgements of the Court, as well as other decisions resolving fundamental issues before the Court, shall be published in the official languages. The Presidency shall, in accordance with the criteria established by the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, determine which decisions may be considered as resolving fundamental issues for the purposes of this paragraph.

2. The working languages of the Court shall be English and French. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence shall determine the cases in which other official languages may be used as working languages.

3. At the request of any party to a proceeding or a State allowed to intervene in a proceeding, the Court shall authorize a language other than English or French to be used by such a party or State, provided that the Court considers such authorization to be adequately justified.

Article 55 Rights of persons during an investigation

2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:

(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it; and

Article 87 Requests for cooperation: general provisions

2. Requests for cooperation and any documents supporting the request shall either be in or be accompanied by a translation into an official language of the requested State or one of the working languages of the Court, in accordance with the choice made by that State upon ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. Subsequent changes to this choice shall be made in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.