Communicourt was founded in 2011 to ensure fairness for people with communication needs in the justice system.
We started out with just one intermediary providing communication support to defendants in the criminal courts, now we have grown to become the leading provider of court appointed intermediary services in England and Wales.
“Communicourt will continue to campaign for greater access to support – we want to secure a future that ensures a fair system for all.”
William Scrimshire, Managing Director, Communicourt
We employ more than 80 intermediaries to work across England and Wales, and we receive over 200 new referrals every month for intermediary services in the criminal and family courts.
Our intermediaries are communication specialists, who work with people to help them understand the legal processes they are going through. We recruit our intermediaries from a range of professional disciplines, including speech and language therapy and psychology. All of our intermediaries carry out significant training and continuing professional development for this specialised role.
Our role is impartial, and our duty is to the court. We receive referrals directly from solicitors, and funding from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) for all family court and criminal trials, and the Legal Aid Agency for criminal assessments.
Our intermediaries are appointed by the court to facilitate communication with a service user. This includes carrying out detailed assessments to understand any provisions or adaptations that can be made to help them participate in the proceedings.
In addition to understanding evidence in live court, service users may also need help to understand the weight of the evidence, the inference which may be drawn, understand the complexities of threshold or a plea bargain, and be able to instruct their legal team accordingly.
Any recommendations are made to guide and assist the court in communicating with the service user in the context of the case, to ensure that they are able to effectively participate.
