Justice for All: Protecting the Translation Rights of Defendants in International war Crime Tribunals (Divided Loyalties: Professional Standards and Military Duty‪)‬

International war crimes tribunals have been established to restore justice in those states that have suffered from genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In this quest for justice, it is imperative that the rights of the accused are protected. International human rights instruments and the statutes of the war crime tribunals grant the accused a right to understand the charges against him or her and the free assistance of an interpreter. International judicial decisions have determined this right includes the right to translation. However, in implementing this included right the tribunals have held that the accused do not possess an absolute right to the translation of documents. This Note examines the importance of translation with regard to the legitimacy of the international criminal system, the accused's right to procedural due process, and the equality of arms principle. It proposes that the needs of both the defense and the tribunals can be met by providing each defense team with its own interpreters. I. INTRODUCTION