The article examines court interpreting in Sweden and analyses one of the main factors that determines court interpreting, namely, the oral mode of communication between the participants in the judicial process. The authors approach court interpreting as a special kind of translation practice seen from the point of view of the translation studies, which is focused on preserving the invariant of the original text, but is also limited to the framework of the objective conditions of working with oral speech, as well as the purpose of the translation being performed. The paper presents an outline of the development of legal interpreting in the European countries; it briefly reveals the main prerequisites for its emergence. In particular, the judicial regulation of the court interpreter’s profession and certification of court interpreters in Sweden are reviewed. A brief reference is given on the scientific papers covering this relatively new field of research. The article outlines the author’s vision, developed on the basis of special translational, psycholinguistic and linguistic-semiotic studies, and presents a complex characterization of the features of the orally-generated speech that contribute to seeing court interpreting as a special type of translation practice. Scientific findings, conclusions and recommendations set forth in this article can serve as a fertile ground for the further development of court interpreting as an independent type of professional activity in Russia. According to the author, identification and prevention of difficulties, taking into account the factors identified in the study, arising in the process of translation of interpreted speech, can improve the quality of training of court interpreters, which, in turn, will have a positive impact on the assessment of the importance of the profession of interpreter.