Lost in translation is something the team of 17 can ill afford, as the outcome of a case depends in a large part on correct interpretation.
They are the vital translators assigned by Dubai Courts to ensure that a suspect understands what is going on during hearings.
The interpreters are always there to translate to suspects a judge's questions into their own language or into a language they understand and their answers into Arabic to the court.
And their job does not end there, as they also have to prepare written translations of documents submitted to the court.
Established in 2000, the translation section of the court offers translation services into Arabic from English, French, Russian, Urdu, Persian, Chinese, Bengali, Malabari, Sri Lankan, Pashto and Tagalog, in addition to the sign language for the deaf.
The translators fulfill 85 per cent of the written and oral judicial translation requirements, said Adnan Ahmed Al Hammadi, Head of the Lawyers, Experts and Translations Affairs Section.
The court assigns external translators to cover the other languages such as Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Korean.
Clinching a job as a court translator is not a walkover.
An advertisement seeking translators is placed in newspapers and the candidates have to pass written and oral tests, said Abdulla Al Awadi, Head of the Translation Affairs Section.
Lawyers can avail the translators' services by making an electronic request through the Dubai Courts website where they have to specify the type of translation, oral or written, urgent or normal, he said.
Mohammed Ali is one of the longest-serving translators in Dubai Courts, which he joined in 2000.
He is qualified to translate into Arabic from English, Malabari, Hindi and Urdu.
There is no place for emotions in judicial matters and Mohammed has to be very accurate in his translations.
He ensures his emotions do not conflict with his judicial responsibility.
But sometimes sympathy does well up, especially in labour-related cases, however this is limited to collecting some money for needy workers.
Mohammed cited an example of a worker who came to the court walking all the way from Al Quoz as he did not have money.
"As I felt sorry for him, I collected some money to help him go back home by cab," he said.
Sometimes the tricky problem of translating ambiguous statements also crops up. Abdul Kadir Jeelani, Senior Translator, said reviewing the case file and being aware of the accusations helps in getting the accurate meaning and clearing ambiguity.
Abdul Hameed Junood, Judicial Translator for the Sri Lankan language, has also worked as an imam as he is a graduate of Shariah College.
He said working in Dubai Courts added to his knowledge of Shariah and imparted valuable judicial awareness.
Sami Ghunaim, a Russian language translator, said accuracy is very important as any wrong translation could jeopardise a person's future.
By Mohammed Elsidafy
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
