febrero 01, 2025
✍️ By Noelia Azcona[1]
An Encounter with Justice and Empathy
Within the framework of the invitation to participate in the symposium titled “Colonial Languages in Law: Analyzing the Legacy and Limits of Legal Systems that Do Not Reflect Native Languages,” to be held on February 20 in New York in the context of the International Mother Language Day, I wanted to share a relevant experience from the court under my charge.
Access to justice is a fundamental right, but often language barriers can turn it into an unattainable privilege. What we experienced in this case reminded us that empathy and the will to find solutions can change lives.
Language Barriers in the Courts
In this particular situation, we encountered an objective barrier to accessing justice: language. Our court, located in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, operates entirely in Spanish. However, the litigant was a Quechua-speaking woman of Bolivian origin. She was the biological mother, whom we needed to notify about the termination of an exceptional measure and the consequent declaration of adoptability of her 10-year-old daughter (according to Article 607, subsection c, of the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code)[1]. The mother spoke only Quechua, and her only link to the Spanish language was her brother, who acted as an informal translator.
We questioned whether this familial and improvised translation was sufficient and adequate, given that there was no control over the fidelity of the message being conveyed (the brother’s intentions were unknown, and he was not a party to the process).
Furthermore, in the type of case being handled, the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code establishes that the biological mother has the right to participate in the proceedings (Article 608 CCC)[2], making it even more urgent to ensure her full understanding of the situation.
Seeking Solutions: Justice and Clear Language
Fortunately, judges in Córdoba have access to the AJUV program (Access to Justice for Vulnerable Sectors) from the Superior Court of Justice of Córdoba[3]. Through this program, materials have been developed on the rights of indigenous peoples, emphasizing the importance of clear and understandable language in judicial processes.
Thus, the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (OAS, 2016) recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to understand and be understood in their language in administrative and judicial processes, ensuring access to interpreters or appropriate means of communication[4].
Following this guideline, she was assigned a free, court-appointed attorney. We worked jointly with the Public Defender's Office on duty (Public Ministry of Defense) in its role of representing the mother, attempting to apply an intersectional approach. For this, we based our perspective on the “Brasilia Rules on Access to Justice for Vulnerable People”[5]. The mother in question simultaneously met multiple vulnerability factors, namely:
Woman: Gender discrimination exacerbates obstacles to accessing justice.
Non-Spanish speaker: Her mother tongue was Quechua, hindering her understanding of procedures.
Migrant: Her nationality and residence in Argentina added a layer of vulnerability, as she was from another country (Bolivia).
Without her own income: Poverty posed an additional barrier to accessing her rights.
Member of an indigenous people: Indigenous communities face specific challenges in accessing justice.
Member of a linguistic minority: Her right to express herself in her language needed to be guaranteed.
The challenge was not only to facilitate her access to justice but primarily to ensure her right to information (Brasilia Rule 49), allowing her to fully understand the process taking place in the court and the legal options available to her as a litigant.
A Solution from Empathy
We put ourselves in this woman’s shoes. What would it be like to be in a hostile environment, not understanding anything being said nor being able to express oneself freely? This awakened the empathy of all the judicial agents involved and motivated us to find a solution through collective thinking.
We knew that within the court, we lacked the necessary linguistic resources to help her understand (to make ourselves understood), so we sought external help. We contacted the Institute of Aboriginal Cultures of Córdoba (ICA), who provided invaluable collaboration[7]. The ICA is an educational institution involved in research, dissemination, and community participation.
First, from the court, we drafted a text in clear and simple language about what was being resolved (termination of the exceptional measure with the declaration of adoptability of a 10-year-old girl).
Then, the Public Defender's Office did the same, ensuring their client was informed about the appeal options available to her.
Finally, the Institute of Aboriginal Cultures translated the document into Quechua, both in written and oral format. They sent the court a WhatsApp audio message with the verbal translation of what had been carefully prepared in Spanish.
On the day scheduled for the hearing in my office, I brought a speaker from my home to the court to use via Bluetooth with my cellphone. This allowed us to play the audio recorded by ICA professionals in front of the mother, who did not speak Spanish but perfectly understood what we were all hearing on loudspeaker. At that moment, everything changed.
The Impact of Being Heard
When the woman heard the message in her own language, her expression transformed. She went from uncertainty and isolation to clarity and understanding. She hugged us, smiled, and looked at her brother with joy. For the first time, she understood her situation, her biological daughter’s situation, and her rights.
It wasn’t good news that was being delivered—it affected her life story. The wellbeing of her daughter had been prioritized, meaning a different path for the girl (not with her). But the fact that the mother understood this led to a different level of understanding and clarity about their life stories. Being able to comprehend and process it in her language gave her a new perspective. She ceased to be a mere spectator in the process and became an informed person actively participating in her own story. She was able to clear her doubts and express her opinion, even providing relief to the court by stating that she agreed with the decision being made.
Conclusion: A Small Effort, a Big Difference
This case reminded us that access to justice is not just about laws and procedures but about ensuring understanding through the use of clear and accessible language.
Sometimes, an action as simple as finding the appropriate means of communication can make the difference between exclusion and inclusion. Clear language is not just a detail; as author Leonardo Altamirano teaches, it “contributes to the transparency and effectiveness of the Judiciary”[6]. Ultimately, it constitutes a fundamental—not tangential—aspect of the courts' work.
Thus, when diversity becomes reality, justice becomes more equitable and humane.
In the court under my charge, that day we all felt that, for a moment, that woman was a little less vulnerable and that Justice spoke her language.
[1] Jueza de Niñez, Adolescencia, Violencia Familiar y de Género y Penal Juvenil en la Tercera Circunscripción Judicial de la provincia de Córdoba, Argentina. Ha sido investigadora y docente en el marco de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Ha escrito libros en coautoría y artículos científicos en temas variados del derecho, centrándose en debates penales, los derechos de la infancia y de sectores vulnerables. Ha disertado en el marco del Centro de Perfeccionamiento Ricardo Núñez dependiente del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la provincia de Córdoba.
[2] https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/235000-239999/235975/norma.htm#16
[3] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.oas.org/es/sadye/documentos/res-2888-16-es.pdf
[4] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.acnur.org/fileadmin/Documentos/BDL/2009/7037.pdf
[5] http://icaborigen.edu.ar/
[6] Altamirano, Leonardo “Lenguaje claro y discurso jurídico”, Toledo Ediciones, Córdoba (Argentina), año 2023.