There has been an international feel to my practice recently as I have represented two Frenchmen, a Pole, a New Zealander, an American and an Iraqi within the last month and previously a Portuguese and an Ukranian. With the exception of the American and the New Zealander, none of the others spoke English and interpreters were required. To ensure fluency, the interpreters were all people who had the particular foreign language as their native tongue. However the result of that is that none of the people concerned, neither the interpreters nor the clients, were native Scots, familiar with our legal system. Accordingly in each case not only had we to overcome the language barrier, but also I had to impart knowledge and understanding of an entirely different legal system.

The language barrier is higher than most first imagine. Some of our concepts and expressions may not have an exact or precise equivalent in the foreign language. For example in a recent trial I discovered that "dangerous driving" and being "annoyed" are very different concepts in France from what is readily understood here. How sure can we be therefore that any answer given, truly reflects what the foreigner was trying to say? Was the question fully understood?

It was a local languages teacher, who pointed out in the High Court, that what appears to be an understandable and sensible reply to a question may, in fact, not be what it seems. For example if he is asked how old he is and he replies he is a fisherman, then clearly he did not understand. What however if he is asked about an assault and has a different understanding of what that is? His reply may make sense, but, unless the questioner is aware of the difference in understanding, it does not truly reflect what he intended. Because the reply is not nonsense, the questioner is unlikely to explore it further.

What if the interpreter cannot interpret adequately? How will anyone know? Think about it in English and imagine trying to translate some of our regional dialects. A native English speaker could well struggle with a person from rural Aberdeen or Buchan. When I started as a depute Fiscal in Kirkcaldy, the Court officer often had to tell me what some of the locals were saying. Whatever it was they were speaking, it bore little resemblance to standard English. Many areas have different words the locals use for common objects. Does the interpreter know them all? Can he?

If the foreigner finds that the interpreter is unable to fully interpret, is it not likely that he will not say precisely what he wants to but, instead, rephrase his reply so that the interpreter can cope? This is what I have found can, and does, happen.

Let us throw into this witches' cauldron, the ingredients of being at a severe disadvantage because, as a foreigner, he does not know his rights or how our legal system works. The Continent has investigating judges and an inquisitorial system of criminal procedure. We have an accusatorial one. Others too have roles to play, which they do not here. For example, you may have noticed that the family of the schoolgirl raped and murdered in the French hostel were allowed to ask questions of the killer in his trial. How confident in obtaining justice will you feel if your country has just emerged from a repressive communist regime and you find the lawyer defending you here is paid by the State, which is what Legal Aid is after all?

Well, what does all this matter anyway? These foreigners should not be over here committing crimes. Will the argument still be the same when you are, or a member of your family is, on holiday abroad and faced with a criminal allegation? Not everyone charged is guilty.

On a lighter note but keeping the theme of foreign visitors, a friend of mine was out jogging the other day when a large mobile home drew up beside him. He worked out that the driver was foreign as the steering wheel was on the left and in his best school boy French [from some time ago] directed him down a complex route of country roads. It was only as the vehicle drove off that he observed the German number plates.