A solicitor’s checklist for instructing an Arabic interpreter

Most interpreting problems in Arabic-language matters are set up before anyone speaks. The booking says “Arabic”, the interpreter arrives with a different variety from the client, and both sides spend the session approximating. The record then carries those approximations for the life of the case.

This is the checklist I would want every instructing solicitor and caseworker to use.

1. Before you book: identify the variety, not just the language

• Ask the client where they grew up and where they lived as an adult — country and region, not just nationality.
• Ask which language they are most comfortable giving detailed evidence in. For some clients Arabic is a second language.
• Record the answer on the file, so every later booking uses the same information.
• If you are unsure, use a short dialect check before you instruct rather than after the first session.

2. What to send with the booking request

• The setting: CVP hearing, PACE interview, asylum interview, prison visit or client conference.
• Date, start time and expected duration.
• The platform: Teams, Zoom, CVP, Prison Video Link or telephone.
• The client’s variety or region of origin.
• No client-identifying detail at this stage. Papers can follow once the booking is confirmed.

3. What to send once the booking is confirmed

• Witness statements, previous interview records and the key documents.
• A list of names of people, places and organisations, with the spellings you are using on the file.
• Any specialist vocabulary: medical, financial, technical or religious.
• Copies of any Arabic-language documents that will be referred to.

The earlier papers arrive, the better the preparation. Names and places are the most common source of inconsistent spellings across a file — and inconsistent spellings are easily read as inconsistent evidence.

4. At the session

• Allow a minute at the start for the interpreter to confirm that they and the client understand each other, and ask the client directly too.
• Speak to the client in the first person (“Where were you on…”), not through the interpreter (“Ask him where he was…”).
• Short segments, one speaker at a time.
• Expect everything said to be interpreted, including side remarks and apologies.
• If a cultural point affects meaning, the interpreter should flag it openly so everyone hears the same thing — not explain it privately to the client.
• The interpreter does not advise, and should not be asked to.

5. After the session

• Note the interpreter’s name and the client’s variety on the file. On a matter that runs for months or years, continuity is consistency in the evidence.
• If something in an earlier record does not match what the client tells you now, consider whether the earlier interpreting should be checked before that record is relied on.
• Check registration on the public NRPSI register, and the clearance level needed for police, prison and counter-terrorism settings.

This briefing is general information about language and interpreting. It is not legal advice.