Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified in Norway, June 2013. Nordic countries are generally associated with the promotion of human rights as well as disability rights. The Rule of Law Index from the World Justice Project ranks the Nordic countries among the top nat...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stockholm University Press
2014-11-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.sjdr.se/articles/535 |
| _version_ | 1797713456156114944 |
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| author | Terje Olsen Patrick Kermit |
| author_facet | Terje Olsen Patrick Kermit |
| author_sort | Terje Olsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified in Norway, June 2013. Nordic countries are generally associated with the promotion of human rights as well as disability rights. The Rule of Law Index from the World Justice Project ranks the Nordic countries among the top nations when it comes to high standards of justice (both civil and criminal justice) and rule of law. However, there are also well-known examples of grave miscarriages of justice in cases where disabled people have been involved. These cases address issues of access to justice and questions barriers to effective communication in criminal justice. Taking the situation of deaf people in Norway as a case, this study asks what barriers deaf people face when reporting a crime, being accused of a crime or being a witness in court. The methodological approach is semi-structured, open-ended interviews with deaf persons, professional sign language interpreters, judges, prosecutors, police officers and lawyers. All the informants have personal experiences from encounters between deaf people and the criminal justice system. This paper discusses this situation in terms of language and communication problems, access to justice, non-discrimination and equal recognition before the law. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:36:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-edb7b5623e7445249347a23f783dbf4f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1501-7419 1745-3011 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:36:52Z |
| publishDate | 2014-11-01 |
| publisher | Stockholm University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-edb7b5623e7445249347a23f783dbf4f2023-09-02T21:32:02ZengStockholm University PressScandinavian Journal of Disability Research1501-74191745-30112014-11-0117S1234110.1080/15017419.2014.972448464Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice systemTerje Olsen0Patrick Kermit1Nordland Research Institute, Bodø, NorwayDepartment of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; NTNU Social Research, Trondheim, NorwayThe UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified in Norway, June 2013. Nordic countries are generally associated with the promotion of human rights as well as disability rights. The Rule of Law Index from the World Justice Project ranks the Nordic countries among the top nations when it comes to high standards of justice (both civil and criminal justice) and rule of law. However, there are also well-known examples of grave miscarriages of justice in cases where disabled people have been involved. These cases address issues of access to justice and questions barriers to effective communication in criminal justice. Taking the situation of deaf people in Norway as a case, this study asks what barriers deaf people face when reporting a crime, being accused of a crime or being a witness in court. The methodological approach is semi-structured, open-ended interviews with deaf persons, professional sign language interpreters, judges, prosecutors, police officers and lawyers. All the informants have personal experiences from encounters between deaf people and the criminal justice system. This paper discusses this situation in terms of language and communication problems, access to justice, non-discrimination and equal recognition before the law.https://www.sjdr.se/articles/535deafdisabilitysign languagerule of lawcriminal justice |
| spellingShingle | Terje Olsen Patrick Kermit Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research deaf disability sign language rule of law criminal justice |
| title | Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system |
| title_full | Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system |
| title_fullStr | Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system |
| title_short | Sign language, translation and rule of law – deaf people’s experiences from encounters with the Norwegian criminal justice system |
| title_sort | sign language translation and rule of law deaf people s experiences from encounters with the norwegian criminal justice system |
| topic | deaf disability sign language rule of law criminal justice |
| url | https://www.sjdr.se/articles/535 |
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