Law is defined as the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. The emphasis in this definition is on the word “community”. Legal arrangements and laws vary from community to community. Therefore, translations in the field of law are the most difficult of the sector. Legal translation can be explained as the transfer of legally generated texts and documents to the target language.
Many texts, such as identity cards, certificates of domicile, birth certificates, diploma equivalency certificates, etc., are considered to be legal documents. Translation of legal texts that can directly affect people’s lives should be carried out by language professionals in this field. Translations performed by non-language professionals in this field can cause loss of time, energy and money. It is very important that the translator thoroughly knows the concepts and terms and has knowledge about the subject matter of the source text.
Characteristics of Legal Translations
- Legal translations are not open to interpretation. A message given in the source language is directly reflected in the target language.
- Words and phrases used in such texts must be suitable for the domain.
- The translator should be familiar with the laws of both countries.
- Some legal terms have originated from the traditions and cultural codes of that country. Therefore, legal concepts between the two languages occasionally may not exactly correspond with each other. In this case, the translator may need to go through a well-disciplined research process.
- Legal texts are both conceptually and culturally rich documents. For this reason, it is crucial that the translator is highly experienced in the field of law.
- Losing the original meaning of the text may result in numerous bureaucratic issues. For this very reason, the translator needs to pay attention to many different elements during the translation process.
Areas of Legal Translation
- Notarized Documents: Documents approved by a notary public and to be submitted to governmental agencies are translated by sworn translators. Examples of such texts include deeds of consent, powers of attorney, birth certificates, passports, driver licenses, certificates of registry, marriage certificates, etc.
- Court Judgements: Legal translation is also used in translating the judgments and verdicts announced at the end of a case.
- Patent Specifications: A patent is an exclusive right to a product or a process that generally provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. These documents must be translated in order for them to take effect in other countries.
- Laws and Regulations
- Contracts: In particular, agreements and contracts concluded by and between multi-stakeholder institutions need to be translated into other languages.
- Official Papers: These include translation of documents such as student certificates, identity cards, civil registry extracts and certificates of domicile.
- Legal Publications: These include the translation of legal texts created in the academic field.
Through its more than twenty years of experience, Mirora offers legal translation services to its clients. If you would like to receive information about this service, you may conveniently contact us via e-mail or phone.
