Dubai Courts facing a shortage of translators

The Typing and Translation Section at the Dubai Courts is having a hard time finding translators for some languages, a senior official at the section has said.
Waheed Al Jassimi, Head of the Translation wing of the section, told Khaleej Times yesterday that there was a shortage of translators for languages like German, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Swahili and some others.

“When a party to a case does not speak any language other than his/her native tongue, we have a tough time.

“If our section does not have translators for that language, we seek help from outside.

“The translators, who are called in, have to be accredited by the embassies/consulates or affiliated to foreign translation firms,” Al Jassimi explained.

Aysha Rashid Ahamli, Head of Typing and Translation Section, Dubai Courts, told Khaleej Times that the section had 16 translators, including a woman who joined recently.

“I believe that appointing female translators could help facilitate family cases. It is a new initiative.

“She will be working for the Shariah courts handling cases of marriage, divorce and inheritance. Three other male translators will soon join the section,” Alhamli said.

Alhamli said the section had translators in 12 languages — English, Russian, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Sri Lankan, Mandarin, Pashto, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam.

Alhamli added that sometimes the judge or the lawyer asked to replace the translator with another one because of some problem in communication.

“The translation needs to be very accurate during the hearings as it would affect the proceedings.

“Hence, we are really careful in the selection of translators. Arabic is a must for all translators and the translator should be able to speak the second language formally.

“Apart from translating inside the court halls, the translators have loads of writing work.

“They are in charge of translating documents, complaints and emails coming to the Dubai Courts in general.”

Alhamli noted that a translator should be on duty daily at the Traffic Court affiliated to the General Command of the Dubai Police.

“Our translation section also covers the Traffic Court, the Immigration Court and the Muraqqabat Court,” she said. Source