Jonathan Gibbons has been profoundly deaf since birth but he said staff at Peterborough County Court made no provision for his disability.

It is the first case of its kind where a court has been challenged for failing to provide an interpreter.
Mr Gibbons, a legal adviser for Hands on Access Ltd, brought a case against the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) for unlawful disability discrimination.

Two weeks before Mr Gibbons was due to represent his company at a hearing on June 18, 2004, he contacted the court and requested that a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter and a note taker be available – a standard procedure in courts up and down the country.

But Mr Gibbons said court staff bluntly turned down his request.

He then telephoned the court by a BT Text-Direct system, making a second plea.

Mr Gibbons said: “The person on the phone ended the call when I insisted more than once to have a BSL interpreter present at the hearing.

“I was furious because I was discriminated against by a body which is expected to uphold the law.

“It was a very stressful experience because I was being discriminated against personally, and, secondly, I could not adequately represent my company at this hearing, which could, and did, have adverse consequences.”

The DCA tried to get the case thrown out on a procedural matter but when a judge at Kingston Crown Court refused the application the two parties came to an out-of-court settlement.

Mr Gibbons (32), who is married and lives in Derby, said it was a victory for the deaf community.

He said: “It is the first time I have been directly discriminated against while practising law.

“I strongly believe that if I were not deaf I would not have been treated in this way,” he said.

“I believe my case is the first in relation to a refusal to provide an interpreter. I hope that in being successful in my claim I have been able to prevent others being treated in the same way as I was by the court service.

“I hope this makes the deaf community more aware of their rights to use the court service with any reasonable adjustments.”

Peterborough Combined Court Centre in Rivergate houses both the city’s crown and county courts.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Court Service declined to comment on the case, but said deaf witnesses, defendants and victims were entitled to whatever they needed to be able to communicate with the court.

But she said the situation was not so clear cut with lawyers.

She added: “The onus may fall on the employer, whether they are self-employed or employed by barristers’ chambers.”