Language interpreter shortage in the UK cripples the court as trials collapse

A national audit finds that 182 magistrate trials have collapsed due to lack of language interpreters. Meanwhile the court's reliance on Google Translate is 'putting the public safety at risk.'

A 'catastrophic' shortage of language interpreters in the UK has forced courts to abandon dozens of trials and to rely on Google Translate instead.

The outsourcing of legal translation services is blamed for putting public safety at risk after suspects were released back on to the streets when court interpreters failed to turn up for their trials.

According to the Daily Mail, in one case the failure of a Lithuanian interpreter to appear in court meant that Google Translate, a comparatively crude and time-consuming online translation service, had to be used.

In the UK a trial is declared 'ineffective' if it has to be abandoned on day one. It is then rescheduled at a substantial cost to taxpayers. In the meantime some defendants have to be freed on bail.

The shortage of court interpreters also means that trials have to be adjourned day after day. Magistrates, solicitors and translators warn that inadequate interpretation standards will result in miscarriages of justice making British courts the 'laughing stock' of the world.

More information on interpreter services in UK courts may be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

By Alex Dupont
Marketing Communications Specialist
Language Translation Inc.

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