A legal translation is not merely read: it is relied on against the other side, in court or before the authorities.
An imprecise word that would do no harm in an ordinary report can, in a legal instrument, cost you an argument or strip a clause of what you negotiated.
What it costs when it goes wrong
- A foreign institution translated with the name of a local one: your reader thinks they know it, and they are wrong.
- A statutory provision retranslated instead of being quoted in its official version: the text no longer matches the law, and the document loses credibility on first reading.
- A translation with no name, no date and no statement of accuracy: its evidential value is open to debate.
- Consent based on an approximate translation: what was actually understood and agreed becomes open to challenge.
These four points, and a fifth, are discussed in ‘Cinq pièges de traduction qui se paient en droit’ (in French: ‘Five translation traps that cost you in law’), published on Village de la Justice and Jubel.
Documents translated, for example
| Litigation | written submissions, writs of summons, applications, judgments and appellate rulings, orders, bailiffs’ documents… |
|---|---|
| Deeds and contracts | contracts, settlement agreements, notarial deeds, articles of association, powers of attorney, leases… |
| Advisory | legal opinions, correspondence between lawyers, legal commentary, arbitration briefs… |
| Regulatory | administrative decisions, compliance texts, internal policies… |
My approach to legal texts
Terminology follows the governing law
A contract governed by Dutch law keeps its Dutch legal concepts recognisable; a Belgian judgment is rendered in Belgian legal French; a Swiss decision in the language of the federal administration.
Quotations are taken from the official version
An article of a code, an EU directive, a passage from a judgment: each is taken from its official version.
Where an official version exists in the target language, that is the one I quote; otherwise, I translate the passage and give its reference.
The statement of accuracy
On request, the translation comes with a dated and signed statement of accuracy for which I take professional responsibility.
Check with your reader that it meets their requirements.
What the ISO 17100 standard covers: the method.
From 9 languages into English, French or Dutch: the details by language.
Three kinds of French, three readerships: the Languages page.
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