Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, currently on an official visit to France, is interested in the way the French legal system works, especially regarding higher authorities.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States and has jurisdiction over constitutional issues and federal laws.
On 14 December, Samuel Alito met several representatives of the French legal bodies during a formal lunch in Paris. CG Traduction & Interprétation provided consecutive interpreting services to facilitate discussions between the American Associate Justice and the French members from the French judiciary.
It is crucial to choose the best interpreter for such a high-profile assignment. As part of this meeting, the interpreter was a “double A” French-English*, chosen for their expertise in international law and the technical quality of their consecutive interpreting. As we know, consecutive interpreting is the most challenging type of interpreting, but it is also the most prestigious, since it is used in the highest political circles.
* In interpreting, interpreters’ skills in the languages they speak are classified according to three levels: A, B and C. The ‘A’ language is the interpreter’s mother tongue, demonstrating mastery of even the subtlest of nuances. The ‘B’ language is the interpreter’s second language, perfectly mastered, although to a lesser degree than their ‘A’ language. The ‘C’ language is the interpreter’s third working language, in other words it’s the language from which they can interpret into their ‘A’ language but into which they can’t interpret.