Effective Engagement with Court Users Who Are Not Native English Speakers

Ordinary people and communities are entitled to understand judicial decisions given about them or people close to them, stated or written in a way they can understand.

The program places particular emphasis on communicating with litigants, witnesses, defendants and other court users for whom English is not a first language, a population that appears with increasing frequency across civil, criminal and family law matters in Australia.

Judicial officers who can explain systems, processes, and procedures in clear, non-judgmental language reduce unpredictable stress. Judicial officers actively move past stereotypes to provide individualised and sensitive responses promote cultural safety.

This program is a must for all judicial officers.

Why should you attend this program?

Judicial decisions are not clear if no one understands them. Decisions obscured by legalisms and Latin, verbiage, or syntax so knotty that even the judicial officer cannot understand it themselves serves no purpose.

Judicial officers are not always good at using plain English. Moreover, although judicial officers “believe” they know what plain English is, their beliefs do not accord with the understanding of linguists and interpreters.  In this two day program, experienced judicial officers, linguists and interpreters work with participants to enhance oral and written communication skills so as to optimise the understanding of rulings for plaintiffs, defendants and communities.

Rules for plain English may heighten participant awareness, but the main ingredient participants are asked to bring is attitude and determination. Participants will receive individual, targeted feedback and best practice advice from language experts and seasoned and experienced judicial officers.

What will you learn at this program?

This is a hands-on, skills-based, experiential learning program. It will involve targeted small group sessions and individual feedback from experienced judges, magistrates, linguistic experts and experienced interpreters, allowing judicial officers reflect on possible changes to their oral and written communication approaches.

Sessions will visit the complexities and cultural taboos of working with First Nations interpreters and other interpreters in the courtroom. Judicial facilitators and linguists will work with participants to structure sentencing/reasoning remarks around:

1. What order to present the information in (and why);
2. What additional implicit/assumed legal information they should include; and
3. Plain English re-scripting at the sentence level, and explanation of the changes.

• This program will cover:
  • Communicate rulings, instructions, and procedural information clearly and in plain language that can be understood by LEP court users.
  • Work effectively and ethically with qualified interpreters, including recognising when interpretation is inadequate.
  • Recognise the legal, ethical, and procedural-fairness obligations that govern language access in the courtroom.
  • Identify and mitigate common communication breakdowns specific to LEP court users.
  • Adapt courtroom management and pacing to accommodate interpreted proceedings without compromising efficiency or the record.
  • Apply cultural awareness and cultural safety protocols that avoids misconceptions, myths and stereotyping while remaining sensitive to communication norms that may differ across cultures.
  • Model communication practices that reinforce, rather than undermine, court users’ perception of fairness and legitimacy.
  • Treat court users’ right to know and for the judicial officer to be understood as an active obligation, confirming — rather than assuming — understanding at key points in a proceeding.
  • Sustain communication practices that remain responsive as the linguistic and demographic makeup of the community changes over time.
• How is this program taught?
  • This program is taught through a mix of plenary sessions and small group workshops.

How will these new skills help your court?

Public confidence in the work of the judiciary is essential to the administration of justice. The delivery at the end of a hearing, or very shortly after a hearing, of a well-reasoned, well-structured but accessible judicial decision only serves to demonstrate the courts and at its best. It follows that:

1. Being understood is central to judicial legitimacy and procedural justice
2. Linguistic diversity in the courts is a growing and permanent reality
3. Judicial officers are often undertrained in this specific skill
4. Legal and ethical and social context awareness obligations require competence in this area
5. The right to know is foundational, not discretionary
6. A responsive bench must keep pace with social and demographic change
7. Plain, accessible communication benefits every court user

Program Inclusions

• Program materials and content
• Morning/afternoon teas and lunch

The program fee DOES NOT include accommodation and/or travel.  Participants are asked to make their own arrangements.

Meet your Program Planning Committee