Article 67. Right to Be Defended Against a Charge

Everyone accused of a crime shall have:
(1) the right to be promptly and thoroughly informed, in a language which he or she understands, of the nature of and grounds for the charge brought ;
(2) the right to defend himself or herself personally or be defended through an advocate chosen thereby;
(3) the right to have adequate time and opportunities to prepare his or her defence and to communicate with the advocate chosen thereby;
(4) the right to question persons testifying against him or her, or have these persons questioned, as well as have the persons testifying in his or her favour to be summoned and interrogated under the same conditions as those for the persons having testified against him or her;
(5) the right to avail of the services of a translator, free of charge, in case he or she does not have command of the Armenian language.

GENERAL PART

Section One : GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 2. PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Article 15. Language of Criminal Proceedings

1. Criminal proceedings shall be conducted in the Armenian language. Everyone has the right to use, in the course of criminal proceedings, the language he masters, except the body conducting the criminal proceedings.

2. By decision of the body conducting the criminal proceeding, the persons participating in criminal proceedings, who lack sufficient command of the language of criminal proceedings, shall be provided, free of charge, with the possibility to exercise, with the help of an interpreter, all rights belonging to them under the provisions of this Code.

3. Certain persons, who lack sufficient command of the language of criminal proceedings, shall receive a verified copy of those documents, which, in accordance with law, should be delivered to them in their native language.

4. Documents in other languages are attached to the case with the translation into the Armenian language.

GENERAL PART

Section Three: PARTIES AND OTHER PERSONS PARTICIPATING IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

CHAPTER 10. OTHER PERSONS PARTICIPATING IN THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Article 83. Interpreter

1. Interpreter is a person, disinterested personally in the criminal case, invited by a body conducting criminal trial, for interpretation.

2. The interpreter shall have a free command of the language of criminal proceedings, as well as the language, from which the translation is conducted. The judge and as well as the prosecutor, the officer of the body of inquiry, the defense attorney, the representative and other participants of the trial, the witness to a search, the expert, the witness are not entitled to be interpreters.

3. An interpreter, pursuant to this Code, is considered also a person, who understands the signs of the deaf-mutes people and is capable to communicate with the deaf though signs.

4. The interpreter has the following obligations:
1) to arrive upon the call of the body, conducting the criminal trial, for conduct of translation;
2) to present to the body, conducting the criminal trial, documents, verifying his/her qualification as an interpreter;
3) to communicate, upon the demand of the body, conducting the criminal trial and also the parties, information on his/her professional experience and on relations with the people participating in the proceedings of respective criminal case;
4) to be at the location of the implementation of investigatory or other procedure action, in the room of court session during all the time, until it is necessary for him/her to provide interpretation, and not to leave the location of the implementation of the named action without the permission of the person, conducting it, and from the room of court session, without the permission of the presiding person;
5) to conduct interpretation fully, correctly and timely;
6) to obey the lawful instructions of the prosecutor, the investigator, the body of inquiry, of the presiding person;
7) to observe order at the court session;
8) to verify with his/her signature the fullness and the correctness of the translation in the protocol of investigatory or other procedure action, in the proceedings of which he/she participated, and also the correctness of the translation in the documents, issued in translation to the persons, participating in the proceedings of the criminal case;
9) to not divulge, without the permission of the body, conducting the criminal trial, the information, became known to him/her in connection with the participation in the investigatory action or during the closed-door session of the court.

5. Failure to perform one's obligations by the interpreter produces responsibility, prescribed by the law.

6. The interpreter has the right:
1) to ask questions to the persons, present during the interpretation, to make the translation more accurate;
2) to acquaint himself/herself with the protocols of investigatory or other procedure action, in which he/she participated, and also, in the respective part, with the protocol of the court session and to make remarks, subject to inclusion to the protocol, on the fullness and correctness of the record of translation;
3) to receive compensation of the expenses, incurred during the proceedings of the criminal case.

7. The interpreter has also other rights and bears other responsibilities, prescribed by this Code.

GENERAL PART

Section IV. EVIDENCE

CHAPTER14. CONCEPT, PURPOSE AND USE OF EVIDENCE

Article 105. Facts inadmissible as evidence

1.
* by violation of the rights of the suspect and accused to defense and that of the additional guaranties prescribed by this Code to persons unable to use the language of the court proceeding;