Q&As

In family proceedings, where a court document needs to be translated for a non-English speaking party or witness, are there requirements as to who can provide a translation of the document? Does the translator need to be certified by the court or have achieved a recognised qualification to be able to translate a court document for these purposes? Or is it sufficient for the translator to simply affirm that they have provided an accurate translation?

read titleRead full title
Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King鈥檚 Bench Walk
Published on: 20 May 2021
imgtext

It is commonly the case that in family proceedings, as in other proceedings, a party has limited or no English comprehension. In such circumstances, it is often necessary for an interpreter to be appointed, but also for documents to be translated to enable the party or witness to be able to read it.

In Re L (A Child), Munby P gave guidance in the context of public law proceedings relating to the translation of documents. In that case, the father was Slovenian and did not read or speak English. The court in that case made clear that only documents

Chris Bryden
Chris Bryden

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.

Chris is the author of numerous articles in publications such as the New Law Journal, Counsel and Family Law, amongst many other titles, and is the co-author of Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (2015, Jordan Publishing).

Powered by Lexis+
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Requirements definition
What does Requirements mean?

A DCO should include 鈥淩equirements鈥 to which the development authorised by the DCO is to be subject. Similar to planning conditions, a requirement specifies the matters for which detailed approval needs to be obtained before the development can be lawfully begin.

Popular documents