The Czech Republic changes the rules for court interpreters (also known as sworn or certified interpreters) effective January 1.
Today, court interpreters provide both interpreting and translation services. New legislation introduces the profession of a court translator.
Certified translations only exist in the form of hard copy today, tied with a braided tricolor string and bearing the interpreter’s seal. New legislation gives rise to the electronic form of a certified translation where the client is willing to accept it.
Lawmakers ultimately agreed to amend the law and give court interpreters and translators the possibility to turn down an assignment if they feel they lack necessary expertise or have another justifiable reason to do so, and, contrary to the lawmakers‘ original intent, court translators are no longer required to archive their translations of sensitive documents.