Recently, the United States legal system was being debated in a cold Moscow Arbitration Courtroom. Participants were speaking through a translator to present competing interpretations of United States law in front of a Russian-speaking judge.

A Russian lawyer, Ivan Marisin, represented the Bank of New York Mellon and was aggressively questioning Robert Blakey, a University of Notre Dame law professor about the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Blakey was one of the drafters of the Act and under its provisions, the Federal Customs Service had brought a 22.5 billion lawsuit against the Bank of New York. Better known as RICO, the act was used to indict Lucy Edwards and her husband, Peter Berlin, both executives at the Bank of New York, for helping Russian clients illegally transfer $7.5 billion out of Russia.

At the end of a seven-hour debate in which interpreters/translators were consistently used, the court was no closer regarding a decision about the guilt of the defendant or the validity of RICO. Nevertheless, had the interpreters not been diligent in their duties, a certain breakdown in communication would have been inevitable. Hearings will resume on August 4, with interpreters/translators in tow.

04 August 2008