Things every UK court interpreter must know

In this post, I will go over a few very frequently used terms we, court interpreters, are expected to know when working in the UK’s courts of law.

Entering a plea

Plea is quite a tricky term, which often cannot be translated as a single word. There is a whole hearing dedicated to the defendant stating their plea. It is similar to an audiência preliminar, but not quite the same. The main thing to bear in mind here is, unlike in other jurisdictions, where you say you are either innocent or guilty, in the UK, you either plead (se declara) guilty or not guilty. For the purposes of sentencing, in Scotland, you may also have a not proven verdict. Still, the defendant will either enter (i.e., state) a guilty or not guilty plea.

A court interpreter should not translate not guilty literally, as it might lead to confusion and even a mistrial, since there is also something called basis of plea, which means someone may confess but to a lesser charge or a different crime, for instance. Be careful!

The dock x The witness box

The dock (banco dos réus) is where the defendant stays. In criminal courts, it is often in the back of the court behind a glass window. The interpreter will either go in there with the defendant or stand outside and whisper what people are saying in court to them.

If am a placed outside, I always ask the court to allow defendants and requested persons to stand during the hearing as it is difficult - actually, impossible - to hear from a distance.

When placed in the dock you will, sometimes, have a hard time hearing and you will not see people’s faces. If that happens, it is very important to not feel shy about knocking on the glass and/or telling people to speak up/closer to the microphone or even slow down. Courtrooms can often be loud and very low-tech. If someone turns on a printer (yes, they do that!), speaks too quietly/mumbles or bangs the door too loudly to a point you cannot hear properly, you must interrupt whoever is speaking.

The witness box (banco das testemunhas) is where the person testifying will stand. Make sure you are close to them and can see them well.

The NPS

The National Probation Service provides a very specific one. I know for a fact that we do not have an equivalent in Brazil, so I translate it for what it does, as O Serviço de Reinserção Social do Infrator at the first time it is mentioned and then just call it “Probation” onwards. That’s what they will hear all the time anyway.

They will engage with the defendant to make suggestions over the appropriate punishment based on the person’s circumstances and history, and they will continue to be in touch once people are convicted. Their goal is to help people improve and not reoffend, and to make offenders comfortable to talk about what led them to commit crimes.

Bail

Bail (liberdade provisória) in the UK does not necessarily involve paying money to the court. It is the often the opposite of remanded in custody, so it entails provisional freedom from prison; it means the defendant can await their trial.

To release on bail (relaxamento da prisão/concessão de liberdade provisória) is when the person can wait for their trial without being in prison.

The opposite of bail is remand(ed) in custody (decretamento de prisão preventiva), which is when the person goes back to prison to await their trial.

Bail conditions (medidas cautelares/condições da liberdade provisória) are the rules the defendants are to follow so as to not get arrested again.

Evidence

This is one of the multi-meaning words we have.

Evidence, in law, means proof (prova), not just an indication that something happened. Do not translate literally.

To give evidence means to depose/testify. (depor) People are required to be sworn in. As an interpreter you are not required to know it by heart, but if you do, you will come across as more experienced and more in charge. Also, some judges might insist you translate these.

Security

Beware security will often mean some form of financial guarantee (fiança criminal). Make sure you remind your barristers that defendants and requested persons are deprived of cultural background, so if there is a request for bail money or a form of security, they might not understand it is not a payment and they will get the money back if they comply with the courts. It is not a part of our role to explain things, but you do have the power and the obligation to alert clients of culturally relevant things. I often do when I know the average person from my culture would not understand how things work in the UK.

Directions

You will often hear judges talk about directions and instructions; these are orders and people have to comply with them. Do not translate them literally. A judge’s directions are rules. They have to be followed. Make sure you do not translate them as mere suggestions or instructions. Make sure Defendant knows they have to comply with directions.

Variation, to vary

Be careful with that one. To vary the conditions for something means to change it.

I hope this helps!

Can you think of any other essential court interpreting vocabulary?