Poor quality of court translations puts justice at risk, experts warn
A barrister who speaks Punjabi says he notices flaws in court interpretation on almost every occasion when the professional service is required. And a linguist specialising in court interpretation blames the judiciary's recruitment process and unsatisfactory remuneration, which can be as low as a tenth of the market rate for experienced translators.
The administration of justice could be at risk because of the poor quality of part-time court interpreters, say two legal and translation professionals.
A barrister who speaks Punjabi says he notices flaws in court interpretation on almost every occasion when the professional service is required.
And a linguist specialising in court interpretation blames the judiciary's recruitment process and unsatisfactory remuneration, which can be as low as a tenth of the market rate for experienced translators.
She also censures the judiciary for being reluctant to introduce an accreditation system to ensure quality.
The critical appraisal of the standard of court interpretation came after the High Court in August, because of errors made by an interpreter, quashed the conviction of a Pakistani man jailed for creating a bomb.
In that case, an interpreter wrongly translated the term "with intention to induce".