Legal language services encompass translation and linguistic review of legal documents such as contracts, policies and regulatory information. Professional translation of legal texts requires both linguistic expertise and an in-depth understanding of legal terminology and different legal systems.
Why legal translation requires specialists
Legal texts contain complex terminology where precise word choice is critical. An incorrectly translated word in a contract might alter legal meaning and create problems. Different countries have different legal systems, common law versus civil law, which affects how legal concepts are translated. Legal language consultants must understand both legal terminology and how different legal systems operate. A legal ‘agreement’ might be translated as ‘avtal’, ‘överenskommelse’ or ‘uppgörelse’ depending on the legal context. Ambiguity that might be acceptable in general text is unacceptable in legal documents.
Which legal documents require translation?
Common legal documents requiring translation include contracts and agreements between companies in different countries, policy documents such as privacy policies and codes of ethics, regulatory documentation for compliance across different jurisdictions and workplace documentation for international companies. For listed companies, translation is often required for articles of association, shareholder information and regulatory filings. Quality translation by native translators with legal expertise ensures the use of correct terminology.
Benefits of a specialised language partner
A language partner with expertise in legal translation offers translators with legal training or experience, understanding of different legal systems and jurisdictions, rigorous quality processes for critical documentation and secure handling of confidential legal documents in accordance with ISO standards with ISO-certified system support. Certain legal documents require authorised translation, whilst for others certified translation suffices. Read more about how we helped one of our clients with certified translations here!