A Registered Intermediary, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, assists in communication between

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

s and vulnerable witnesses in court cases. Many people attending court as victims or witnesses have difficulties understanding the questions that they are asked by lawyers. Registered Intermediaries have professional backgrounds in areas such as

speech and language therapy Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

, nursing,

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

, education, or

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. They are also available to assist

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s who are interviewing vulnerable witnesses. In all cases, the intermediary completes a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerable person's communication needs and makes recommendations in a written report of how the person should be questioned. Registered Intermediaries are not

appropriate adult In English law, an appropriate adult is a parent, guardian or social worker; or if no person matching this is available, any responsible person over 18. The term was introduced as part of the policing reforms in the Police and Criminal Evidence ...

s or

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

es whilst undertaking this role. A new scheme was piloted in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 2013 in which vulnerable

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...

s and

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

s at court are also able to access a Registered Intermediary. In England and Wales, legislation has been passed (but not yet implemented) to enable vulnerable defendants to access an

Intermediary An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...

while they give oral testimony at court. However, in the meantime in the interest of justice, the Criminal Practice Directions (2013) allow the court the discretion to appoint an intermediary for a vulnerable defendant. The two largest providers of intermediaries for defendants in the criminal and family courts are Communicourt and Triangle. Intermediaries for Justice (IfJ) is a registered charity with a vision of opening the ‘accessible door’ to justice; where all people understand the questions they are asked and can tell what has happened. IfJ promotes and supports the work of intermediaries, who are communication specialists working with vulnerable people in the justice system. It also provides a search for an intermediary facility https://www.intermediaries-for-justice.org

References

{{reflist * Appropriate Adults http://www.appropriateadult.org.uk/ * Krahenbuhl, S. J. (2011). "Effective and appropriate communication with children in legal proceedings according to lawyers and intermediaries". ''Child Abuse Review'', 20, 407-420. Registered Int