Non-Registered Intermediary

If a defendant in England and Wales is identified as being vulnerable, special measures can be taken to allow a non-registered intermediary to assist them during their trial. Around two thirds of all offenders have communication difficulties and there is a high demand for non-registered intermediaries in the criminal courts. The first practical use of a defendant intermediary in a major trial is believed to be a murder case before a high court judge. If an intermediary is to be used the court should then attempt to find an appropriate intermediary. HMCTS staff have been issued with guidance which includes the list of several professional organisations that may be able to assist in providing an intermediary. The two largest providers of intermediaries for defendants in the criminal and family courts are Communicourt [1] and Triangle [2]

Intermediaries carry out a range of functions to assist the courts and criminal justice practitioners including:

The Youth Justice & Criminal Evidence Act 1999 created the provision for a range of "Special Measures" for cases involving vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence in court, one of which is the intermediary special measure. The Witness Intermediary Scheme (WIS) was set up by the Ministry of Justice’s Better Trials Unit to implement the intermediary special measure. The National Policing Improvement Agency operate and manage the WIS’s national database and matching service on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Intermediaries appointed through the WIS will be Registered Intermediary, recruited, trained and accredited by the Ministry of Justice. RIs work through the Witness Intermediary Scheme, run by the Ministry of Justice, which maintains a register of intermediaries, providing training and matching them with witnesses or victims. The legislation currently excludes defendants from using RIs. Instead they have to rely on what the High Court called ‘private and unregulated’ helpers

Vulnerable defendants frequently stand trial without the professional assistance they require. Defendants do not have access to the MoJ "Registered Intermediaries" but should still have access to high quality intermediaries with skills not only in assisting with evidence giving, but also in helping the defendant to understand the case against him/her, instruct his legal team, and participate in the trial.

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Wikipedia