Working With Judicial Officers In Domestic Courts: The Interpreter Perspective

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a section of a larger study which aimed to examine the way magistrates and judges (collectively termed Judicial Officers) work with interpreters in Australian courts. The study included observations of court proceedings with interpreters around Australia (New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Victoria, Northern Territory and Western Australia) and interviews with Judicial Officers and interpreters, with questions specifically related to the implementation of the Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals (RNS). The current paper presents the results of the interviews with 19 interpreters from 17 languages. The interviews explored the interpreters’ experiences and perspectives regarding the ways in which Judicial Officers communicate with and through them in bilingual proceedings, and their perceptions about the level of implementation of the RNS since its inception in 2017.