The article ‘Rise in Chinese offenders’, published on 5 November 2024, offers an important takeaway concerning fairness within the legal system.

The need to understand the law or legal proceedings is an important aspect of fairness within the legal system. The court’s concern that Chinese defendants are not being offered interpretation is valid.

For the court proceedings to be fair, the defendant has to understand the charges, what transpires within the court and if convicted, then why has it come to that point.

The court has noted a rise in the number of Chinese nationals appearing in court for violence against their spouses. The primary concern is the lack of rehabilitation programs conducted in the Chinese language and the need for interpreters.

District Court Judge Talasa Atoa Saaga made the comments after a Chinese national bit his de facto wife’s arm and assaulted her in a domestic violence case in June 2023.

According to the judge, there has been an increasing number of Chinese nationals married or in a de facto relationship with Samoans who have appeared before the court as defendants in domestic violence matters.

“With the increasing number of Chinese nationals appearing in Court, it is important for the Ministry to discuss the engagement of translators who can speak any of the Chinese dialects or the most common dialect that any Chinese national will understand,” said Judge Saaga.

“The Ministry also can survey how many nationals of foreign nations have appeared in the court and what rehabilitation programs can be initiated to provide support for the families of these nationals as domestic violence does not discriminate by race or nationality.”

China has been considered a friend by the government and there are avenues to get help in legal proceedings from the Chinese Embassy, if a full-time person cannot be employed by the ministry concerned, help should be taken.

The Chinese government has helped bridge gaps in the medical sector and can easily extend help to the judicial system, however, in the long run, if Chinese offenders are appearing daily, then a full-time interpreter is needed.

The court has said many Samoans have studied in China and are fluent in the language, so their services can be sought.

Legal interpreting plays a crucial role in ensuring fair trial and access to justice for people with limited proficiency in the language of the court. This vital service helps bridge language barriers, ensures accuracy in legal proceedings, and upholds due process.

One of the main roles of legal interpreting is to overcome language barriers that can hinder effective communication between parties in legal proceedings. Interpretation services enable defendants, witnesses, and other participants to understand and participate in court proceedings, regardless of their native language.

Despite the language barriers, anyone convicted in Samoa has the right to a fair trial. The need for interpreters who are unable to converse in either Samoan or English should also be extended to when police question suspects and when they charge someone.

How do the police confirm that the foreign national has fully understood the charges and why he is being charged? The only way to ensure that justice is done is if the whole system is fair and does not prejudice against the defendant and the complainant.

The issue may look minuscule but it is something that will ensure every person has a right to a fair trial, despite the language they speak.