Judicial multilingualism in South Tyrol

The Italian province of South Tyrol is often regarded as a model for managing ethnic tensions and protecting linguistic minorities through a sophisticated power-sharing arrangement and an extensive framework of language rights. Among these is the right to use one of the legally recognized mother tongues , Italian or German, in judicial proceedings. This article has a twofold goal. First it analyzes in detail the system of language rights in the South Tyrolean justice system, tracing its evolution and the debates surrounding its development and implementation. Second, drawing on semi-structured interviews with individuals employed in the justice system (lawyers, judges, and clerks), it examines experiences of working in bilingual judiciary contexts, bringing to light how and to what extent language rights on paper are implemented in reality, the organization and functioning of South Tyrolean courts, and unexpected challenges surrounding the right to use German in the South Tyrolean judiciary system. By doing so, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of the practical operation of linguistic rights in the judiciary and their significance for fairness and equality in multilingual societies such as South Tyrol.