Interpreters in mediation

Mediation is actively promoted throughout the European Union as an alternative to court-based dispute resolution. Contemporary mediation takes place, however, in the context of highly linguistically diverse societies, and with international migration in the 21st century, this diversity can be expected to increase. Cases of mediators working with Non or Limited English Proficiency (NLEP) clients are increasing and, in the UK, this usually means introducing a language interpreter to the mediation encounter.

This professional doctorate project examines the function of language interpreting in mediation. It sets out to examine the dynamics of the interpreted mediation encounter through the collection and thematic analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with mediators and interpreters. My project is the second phase of work that I contributed on interpreting in mediation to the Understanding Justice (hereafter UJ) project between 2014 and 2016, funded by the Directorate General Justice of the European Commission.

Mediators use a range of communication strategies to mitigate conflict and encourage negotiation. The introduction of an interpreter, however, raises the possibility of these strategies being derailed, and it requires insight on the part of mediators and interpreters into the peculiar demands of interpreting in the mediation encounter to successfully implement them across languages. The demands of mediating through an interpreter remain, however, unexamined and insight into how mediation and interpreting interact in practice is limited.

My DProf project seeks to address this topic by posing the following research questions:

i. How do mediators experience the use of interpreters in mediation?

ii. What impact does the use of an interpreter have on a mediation’s progress and outcomes?

iii. How do interpreters understand their own role and function in mediation?

My research indicates that the understanding of how to successfully incorporate language interpreting into mediation practice is still in a primitive state, compared to other areas of criminal and civil judicial activity. I therefore complete my research report with recommendations based on the data for how mediators can adapt their practice to the demands of the mediation encounter.

Appendix One has been redacted.