The
topic of interpreters in court and the destructive changes in the
last few years have not featured here for a while but were a
frequent feature at my previous site. However an article in today`s
Law Society Gazette brought to mind a conversation I had with an
acquaintance two years ago. It turned out she was a highly qualified
Slovak/English, English/Slovak interpreter. Indeed she had
officiated at the highest levels in the U.N. and the E.U. Until the
take over of court interpreter services by Capita plc (I consider it
unlikely that a few years down the line we will not read interesting
revelations of their acquisition of that contract) she had been
available at short notice for what is a rarely required language in
police stations as well as in the courts. She confided to me that
she and all her Slovak/English colleagues, fewer than ten, had turned
their backs on the offer of work from Capita; the terms were such
that they were almost insulting. She and the others had enough work
from sources which valued their expertise.
Now,
getting back to the article which has initiated this post, the
language in question was Slovakian. Perhaps the higher judiciary
really are out of touch with what`s happening around them which goes
back to my previous post.
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