Do you know what legal translation or judicial translation consists of? This discipline is concerned with making legal texts and court documents in one language comprehensible in another language. The professionals in this sector are legal translators, who are highly qualified and have a perfect command of both languages to be translated and the legislative, legal and cultural frameworks of the countries to which they must refer.
What is legal translation?
To put it simply, the work of professionals in this type of translation consists of taking a legal or court document in one language and making it understandable in a different language and applicable in its legal system without losing its true meaning.
The translators have orders for all types of legal documentation and texts, whether they come from government agencies or, for example, from lawyers in private practice.
Many people think that doing this type of work is relatively easy, because they believe that all it takes is replacing the words in one language with those of the other language to which they want to translate. Would you agree?
It’s actually a bit more complicated. Keep in mind that the translator needs to express the meaning of the text in its full extent and with all its legal connotations. Each legal system has been created in a different way in each country. So, each of them have expressions that are difficult to transfer to other languages.
That’s why, it’s important to know what they mean and to find the most accurate expression for the target language. If those who read the text for legal use realize that it has been translated poorly or inaccurately, they will not be able to use it with full validity. It’s important for the translator to have deep legal and linguistic knowledge, because in many cases the legal measures to be taken depend on the accuracy of the translation.
Characteristics
Remember that the translation of legal and court documents is sometimes merely informative. In other cases, they have legal consequences. For this reason, it’s essential to study and research the legal frameworks in which the content of the document will be implemented, in order to achieve an adequate linguistic and legal adaptation.
The following are some examples of documents that may require this type of translation:
– Agreements between multinational companies
– Trusts and wills
– Labor documents
– Legal information for foreign people, including court rulings
– Supranational regulations, applicable in countries with different languages
– Company contracts or deeds of incorporation
– Lawsuits
– Powers of attorney
– Insurance policies
Therefore, for this type of assignments, make sure you have translators with extensive training, who are capable of carrying out the work with the maximum guarantee of success. They must have legal knowledge as well as the highest levels of proficiency in the languages to be translated. If you need legal translation experts to take care of a job professionally and accurately, don’t hesitate to contact us.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish) Français (French) Deutsch (German)
