Court interpreter cost concerns

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A sheriff has called for foreign nationals who do not show up for court dates to be held responsible for paying the price of their interpreters.

Kevin Drummond said he was frustrated at the cost of providing a service for people who failed to turn up.

He spoke out after a warrant was issued for the arrest of a Polish man who did not appear at Selkirk Sheriff Court.

An interpreter had been booked and travelled from Edinburgh to attend his case at a cost of £200.

The woman sat through two hours of court business until 49-year-old Slawomir Bobski's case was called.

He has been accused of assaulting his partner at their home in Melrose, on 29 April.

I am considering making an order that will mean the customer is liable for the interpretation costs if there is not a good explanation for an absence Sheriff Kevin Drummond

When it was evident he was not in attendance, a warrant was issued and the female interpreter was told she was free to leave without her services being required.

Sheriff Drummond, who also administers justice at courts in Duns and Jedburgh, said he was unhappy about the situation.

"The sheriff clerk organises interpreters at the public expense and then the customer does not even turn up," he said.

"I am considering making an order that will mean the customer is liable for the interpretation costs if there is not a good explanation for an absence."

The Scottish Courts Service has spent more than £1m on interpreters' fees for non-English speakers since it began keeping separate records of this cost in June 2003.