Translating Legal Contracts Successfully
Translating legal contracts and documents is a highly specialised and skilled area of translation. International agreements have to extend across borders and cultures. As such, the wording of a legal document is incredibly precise in order to remove any ambiguity or possibility of divergent interpretations. A translation of it must reflect that. Furthermore, it’s important that the language used is appropriate for each country and its specific legal system. To translate a legal contract or document with absolute clarity, here are a few things you should keep in mind:
A specialised translator is key
Being an expert in the languages you’ll be dealing with is not satisfactory. To translate a legal document properly, the translator must have knowledge of legal terminology — most professional legal translators have a law qualification, as well as translation qualifications. Even a minor misuse of vocabulary could create confusion, or be open to misinterpretation — which could be the object of scrutiny later on.
For example, the Polish term spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością is usually translated as a limited liability company, which is a more-or-less direct translation. The problem is that, within US law, the closest equivalent would be private corporation.
Be aware that laws are subject to constant change and revision.
Word selection and syntax
A legal translation must convey the message of the original document both correctly and in its entirety. Even the use of punctuation is crucial, since misuse could result in an alteration of the original meaning.
It’s important to remember that between any two languages, it is sometimes impossible to recreate even a simple sentence in the exact same format — ie. a literal translation. Doing so can result in grammatical inconsistencies which will sound incoherent. Using correct phrasing and construction is essential for clarity.
Regional variations
Variation within a given language must be considered. English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and numerous other languages are widely spoken in different parts of the globe. However, the language is not the same. People in Mexico not only speak, but also write, Spanish differently from the people in Spain. Hence, translators must be familiar with not only the language, but also the regional variation.
When translating legal contracts into English, for example, will your audience be based in the UK, USA or Australia? If it’s for the UK, in Scotland or England? All of these countries have distinct legal systems, but often use the same terminology to designate different or only partially overlapping concepts.
Likewise, the different varieties of Spanish use legal terms in different ways. In peninsular Spanish, jurisprudencia means legal philosophy (in other words, it is a cognate of the English jurisprudence), but in Mexico jurisprudencia refers to the event of the Mexican Supreme Court resolving a case in the same way five times and thus establishing a binding legal precedent. Not being aware of issues such as these leads to – at best – confusion or – at worst – grave misunderstandings.
Confidentiality
Translating legal contracts or documents requires complete confidentiality for several reasons. The document being translated may contain information that should be kept hidden from competitors, plaintiffs or other personnel. The documents may refer to an on-going investigation or court process. If this information gets in the wrong hands, someone could end up paying for it. At Quicksilver Translate, we have confidentiality agreements with all our clients.
Legal recognition
Some professional legal translators have a certification which gives their translations legal validity in the target country. A sworn translation (a.k.a. a certified translation) is an authorised translation service, used to translate legal documents or certificates. This could include contracts, birth certificates, university degrees, academic records, naturalisation applications, certificates of incorporation, and many other official documents.
KEY POINTS
- A sworn translation is a translation of document which — in order to be legally valid in the target language — must have been translated by an officially accredited translator — a “sworn translator”.
- In many countries, a sworn translation must be supplied as a hard copy, with the signature and seal of the translator.
- Only authorised, certified sworn translators can provide sworn translations.
Find out more: What is a Sworn Translation… and why it matters!
In conclusion, when translating legal contracts, good research and attention to detail are paramount.
