There are certain translation jobs for which you need a professional translator. Some types of documents require you to hire specialists because they need to perform technical tasks such as localization. However, other types of documents require this to ensure their validity. This is the case with certified translation.
What is a certified translation?
In any legal system, for a foreign document to have legal validity, it must be translated into one of the region’s official languages. While this is especially important with public documents, the truth is that this also applies to private documents when they must be presented in a court of law.
Translation of private documents
A private document is the kind that is signed between individuals, without the intervention of any public authority. The most typical examples are contracts, statutes, pacts, and conventions. These documents are a binding contract between the parties, so it’s very important for them to be written in the language you need.
Specifically, there are two areas where translation services may be useful.
1. If each of the parties has a different native language, it is best for the document to be translated, so as to avoid misunderstandings in reference to the terms.
2. If a dispute should arise, and you decide to take legal action, the court will require that the document be translated into its official language.
Translation of public documents
In this case, the translation becomes even more important. Ultimately, when you want to enforce a contract, you simply bring it to your counterpart’s attention. However, public documents tend to seek overall effectiveness.
This means that any legal system will require that the public document issued in another language be properly translated, for ir to have legal effect.
A public document is valid because a public official has intervened and thus validated it. As a result, it has certain legal effects, such as the presumption of certainty. Examples include birth certificates, certificates of parentage, or marriage certificates.
Certified translation services
These types of translations we’re referring to are called certified translation or sworn translation. In this case, the translator must be properly certified and responsible for guaranteeing the fidelity of their translation.
Consequently, the translator will need to know the basic legal institutions of the State for which they are translating, in addition to having a deep knowledge of the source and target languages. For this reason, many translation agencies have dedicated areas, which specialize in certified translation.
In conclusion: why you should hire a professional translator
In short, whenever you need a document to be valid abroad, the only translation that will be valid is the one provided by a certified translator. If you want to get married in Morocco or wish to divorce your Swedish husband, at the civil registry they will ask you for the certified translation of the corresponding documents.
Therefore, when you need this type of service, having a professional and duly certified translator is not only highly recommended, but also legally imperative. At blarlo, this type of service is our specialty, and we are prepared to offer you translations that meet legal requirements.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish) Français (French) Nederlands (Dutch)
