Complaint references: CR62

The assignment concerned was a Civil Law Court Case, this was a 'hybrid' Hearing. The Registrant and their co-worker were the Court Interpreters. NRCPD received 5 separate complaints about the Registrant. As all the complaints were received in a short space of time, and all related to the same assignment, the complaints were issued under one case number, rather than issuing separately. The Complainants included a Claimant and Witnesses in the Case, as well individuals from the virtual Public Gallery. The Complainants felt the Registrant was unprofessional and that their performance could have had a detrimental impact on the case. Criticisms included the tone of the voice over, impacting on how the Claimant was presented to the Judge and failure to interpret all dialog.

Investigation was conducted into potential breach of Sections 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 6.1 and 7.3 of NRCPD's code of conduct. Witness Evidence was obtained from the various Complainants as well as the Legal Professionals involved in the case. Information was also sort from relevant agencies and the MOJ.

Case Examiners decided based on the evidence provided, that there was a realistic prospect of finding an impairment of fitness to practice, and that it was not in the public interest to refer the case to a Complaints Committee.

The Case Examiners noted that the Registrant apologised, reflected and recognised their shortcomings, and had an action plan for improvement for both skills and knowledge, which they were already working on within professional supervision.

Case Examiners made several recommendations to the registrant, with the purpose of improving their practice and to ensure the standards within the NRCPD Code of Conduct are upheld. The advice and recommendations given to the registrant included, ensuring the Registrant does not accept or agree to work assignments where the necessary preparation material is not available; withdrawing from any accepted assignments where the necessary material is not provided; and improving methods of communication with co-workers, with advice given to the registrant on the best practice for doing this.