Language

Russian Federation

Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation

Part One. General Provisions

Section I. Basic Provisions

Chapter 2. Principles of the Criminal Court Proceedings

Article 18. Language of the Criminal Court Proceedings

1. The criminal court proceedings shall be conducted in the Russian language, as well as in the state languages of the Republics - the members of the Russian Federation. The proceedings on criminal cases in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and military courts shall be conducted in the Russian language.

2. To participants in criminal court proceedings who have no command or just a poor command of the language in which the proceedings on the criminal case are conducted, shall be explained and guaranteed the right to make statements, to give explanations and testimony, to lodge petitions and complaints, to get acquainted with the materials of the criminal case and to take the floor in the court using their native tongue or another language, of which they have a good command, and to make use free of charge of interpreter's services in accordance with the procedure, established by the present Code.

3. If, in conformity with the present Code, the investigation and the trial documents are subject to obligatory presentation to the suspect and to the accused, as well as to the other participants in the criminal court proceedings, said documents shall be translated into the native tongue of the corresponding participant in the criminal court proceedings or into the language of which he has a good command .

Part One. General Provisions

Section II. Participants in the Criminal Court Proceedings

Chapter 7. Participants in the Criminal Court Proceedings on the Side of the
Defence

Article 46. The Suspect

4. 6) to give the evidence and the explanations in his native tongue or in the language, of which he has a good command;
7) to make use of an interpreter's services free of charge ;

Part One. General Provisions

Section II. Participants in the Criminal Court Proceedings

Chapter 7. Participants in the Criminal Court Proceedings on the Side of the
Defence

Article 47. The Accused

4. 6) to bear evidence and to express himself in his native tongue or in a language, of which he has a good command;
7) to make use of an interpreter's services free of charge ;

Part Two. Pre-Trial Proceedings

Section VIII. Preliminary Inquisition

Chapter 23. Bringing to Court the Accused. Bringing the Charge

Article 173. Interrogation of the Accused

2. At the beginning of the interrogation, the investigator shall find out whether the accused recognizes himself as being guilty, whether he wishes to give evidence on the merits of the charge brought against him and in what language. If the accused refuses to give evidence, the investigator shall make a corresponding entry into the protocol of his interrogation .

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.