The Law of England and Wales: Translation in Transition

This article considers the role of the legal translator/interpreter in bilingual court proceedings. This is not, however, a situation where a non-English speaker gives oral evidence which is translated for the benefit of the court, but rather a situation where a court – the court in question being the Supreme Court of England and Wales – is unable to comprehend the bilingual text of the legislation. The interpreter is therefore called upon to explain the possible differences in meaning between the two versions. This article questions the extent to which the legal system is aware of the significance of these issues, and advocates re-evaluating the training requirements of legal interpreters.