Dr Diana Singureanu

The rapid growth of video-mediated interpreting (VMI) during the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the focus of research from investigating the feasibility of VMI to developing a better understanding of the factors that can contribute to sustaining it. Within legal settings, a range of challenges has been identified, some of them specific to the actual configuration of VMI that is used (especially the distribution of participants). In this study we examine one particular configuration in which a defendant takes part in the proceedings via video link from prison whilst all other participants including the interpreter are physically present in the courtroom. Drawing on observation and interview data, with a focus on extradition court hearings, we examine the complexities of VMI in this configuration, its main challenges, and the associated strategies employed by the interpreters to cope with the demands of VMI.

The baseline study was conducted in two stages. First a comprehensive review of existing academic and practice-based literature, guidelines and codes of ethics was carried out for each of the three workstreams (PSI, VMI, LLDI). The findings are reported in Part I, II and III of this report. Relevant information about the methodological approach for the reviews is provided in each part. Subsequently, three detailed case studies were conducted with three NGOs (in three different countries), each of which having direct experience of language service provision and use in the asylum/refugee context, in order to elicit information about the practical implementation of interpreting services in this context. The findings from the case studies are reported in Part IV of this report and are complemented by a forthcoming European Migration Network report (EMN), detailing the findings of an ad-hoc query on interpreter use in reception contexts, which provides an overview of interpreting practices in 23 member states (Appendix – Compilation Report: Ad-hoc Query on 2022.63 Interpreting in Reception Facilities). The findings included in the present report will inform the development of a harmonised EUmodel for video-mediated PSI. It will also provide the basis for the development of training content that will support the implementation of the standards in the EU-WEBPSI model.

In response to the increasing use of video links in UK courts, this research study examines the challenges court interpreters face when working in court-prison video links at a busy court complex in London, the interpreters' perspectives on these challenges, and the coping strategies they use to overcome them. This is a multi-method study that combined qualitative methods, which consisted of observing and interviewing interpreters and quantitative methods, namely the TEIQue self-report inventory used to assess interpreters’ levels of emotional intelligence. Drawing on the psychological concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI), we investigate the influence of court interpreters' EI levels on their views regarding video-mediated interpreting (VMI) and their unique coping strategies in VMI. Our research reaffirms some of the difficulties with VMI that have been established in previous research, and it shows that interpreters in our study adapt their strategies in response to these problematic aspects and that under pressure, they sometimes reluctantly compromise to satisfy competing needs of the remote defendant and the court. A further finding that is consistent with previous research is that interpreters' perspectives on VMI varied. To gain a deeper understanding of these variations, we examined potential relationships between the attitudes towards VMI held by the interpreters in our study and their respective EI profiles. By conducting a cross-analysis of the qualitative data (interviews and observations) and the quantitative data (EI scores), we were able to identify links between interpreters' EI profiles and how they view and respond to VMI challenges. These findings can inform the implementation of video courts in which interpreters are needed, as well as help enhance existing VMI training as part of court interpreters’ professional development. They can also be fed into best-practice guidelines for VMI so that VMI can be used more effectively enabling a better experience for all parties involved.