Now, English no bar for jurors in UK immigration trials

London: The inability to understand, read or write English language would no longer be a hindrance to serve as a British jury member deciding immigration cases. People who only know Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu or Gujarati are equally welcome. The Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed that jurors who cannot read English are now being invited to decide the outcome of immigration trials. Around 200,000 people are summoned every year for jury duty.
Now, they would be called with letters printed in seven languages as well as English to “encourage” non-English speakers, the Daily Mail reported. The languages are Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati, Polish, Cantonese, and Arabic. In Wales, jurors are also sent information in Welsh.
Even those who cannot understand spoken English “could be asked” to sit in trials of those accused of crime, it said. The tribunal, part of the ministry of justice, said the language addendum “is aimed at people who cannot read English very well but can speak English so would be able to serve on a jury”. PTI