Commentary on Judgment No. 18792 of 2022: Statements to the Bankruptcy Trustee and the Interpreter

The judgment no. 18792 of December 20, 2022, filed on May 4, 2023, represents an important ruling by the Court of Cassation regarding bankruptcy and documentary evidence. It focuses on the usability of statements made to the bankruptcy trustee by individuals of foreign nationality and the necessity of an interpreter or translator in such contexts. This topic is particularly relevant, considering the internationalization of trade and the growing interactions between individuals of different nationalities.

The Regulatory and Legal Context

The Court examined whether statements made by a manager of a bankrupt company, of foreign nationality, could be deemed usable despite her difficulty in expressing herself in Italian. In particular, the judge emphasized that statements made to the bankruptcy trustee are not subject to the same rules provided for procedural acts by the criminal and civil procedure codes. According to the Court, the provisions of Articles 122 and 123 of the civil procedure code exclusively concern procedural acts in the strict sense, thereby excluding the need for an interpreter in this specific context.

  • Statements must be acquired outside the proceedings.
  • The rules on the translation of acts do not apply to statements made to the trustee.
  • The presence of a trusted lawyer is deemed sufficient to ensure the validity of the statements.

Analysis of the Judgment

Statements made to the trustee by a foreign-speaking individual - Appointment of an interpreter or translator - Necessity - Exclusion - Reasons - Case. The statements made to the bankruptcy trustee, as they are acquired outside the proceedings, are not subject to the rules of the criminal procedure code regarding the translation of acts, nor can the provisions of Articles 122 and 123 of the civil procedure code concerning the appointment of an interpreter and translator apply to them, as these rules pertain to procedural acts in the proper sense and also to documents submitted by the parties. (In applying this principle, the Court rejected the objection of the unusability of the statements made to the trustee, without the assistance of an interpreter, by the manager of the bankrupt entity, a foreign national who, while understanding the Italian language, expressed herself with difficulty and had been assisted during the hearing by her trusted lawyer).

The Court thus reiterated that, despite the individual's expressive difficulty, her understanding of the Italian language and the presence of a lawyer rendered her statements validly usable. This approach underscores an important distinction between procedural acts and statements made in non-formalized contexts, such as that of the bankruptcy trustee.

Conclusions

Judgment no. 18792 of 2022 represents a significant step forward in understanding the dynamics of statements made to the bankruptcy trustee. It clarifies that, in non-procedural contexts, the rules on translation and interpretation do not apply, provided that the parties involved can still ensure effective and clear communication. This principle may also be relevant in other areas of law, contributing to greater flexibility in proceedings involving foreign individuals and their statements.

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