‘Tanzania to translate English-written court decisions’

From February, all summaries of court decisions in Tanzania, usually written in English, will be translated into Swahili, the country’s Chief Justice Ibrahim Juma has announced.

English has been the predominant language of law, court records and proceedings in Tanzania since the colonial era, while Swahili is restricted to lower courts, the report says.

“So, this issue needs preparation, and I think we have started and the first step we are taking is to look at computer software that would enable instant interpretation of decisions in different languages,” said Chief Justice Juma.

He added that great care had to be taken when implementing the directive because English was used in legal training.

Currently, district and resident magistrate courts use Swahili to hear cases but the proceedings and judgments are recorded in English.

A similar system is used by the High Court and the Court of Appeal except in few cases, The Citizen reports.