3.10.1. Access to interpretation 

The CJEU and national courts have recalled the significance of the right to interpretation in the asylum procedure. In relation to regular procedures, the Belgian Council of State highlighted that, in at least one hearing, applicants should be heard by an officer and assisted by an interpreter of the same sex in order for the procedure to comply with Article 15 of the recast APD. 

In accelerated procedures, the CJEU found in Y.N. v Slovenia that the time limit for an appeal, in this case 3 days including a weekend and a public holiday, did not allow the applicant to procure interpretation services and concluded that it amounted to a violation of the applicant’s right to an effective remedy. For its part, the Belgian CALL ruled that the accelerated procedure should have not been applied as the applicant was not the assisted by an official translator during the personal interview, but only by a nephew over the phone.