Why is Legal Translation so Specialised?

Legal translation from German to English or vice versa may involve any sort of text that is used within the legal system or systems in the two countries that are corresponding. Given the fact that there are several countries where German is spoken, each with their own legal system and specific terminology and correspondingly there are several ore countries where English is the principal language, you can see straight away that German English translation of legal documents is a highly specialised task.

The variety of legal documents that may need translating is impressive:

• patents;
• transcripts;
• witness statements;
• depositions;
• official reports;
• financial documents;
• identity documents;
• wills and testaments

The documents in the list above are just some of the sorts of documents that may need to be translated for one reason or another. The fact that most western countries are becoming more multicultural through increased migration means inevitably there are more documents that have to be made available for things like student and employment visas, residence, marriage, birth, divorce and citizenship.

Many businesses and government agencies are finding that they need to deal with a variety of organisations in another country where the language is different and legal documents must be made available.

Legal document translation must be in the hands of not just translators who have an excellent command of German and English but must be specialists in the legal field as well as having an excellent understanding of legal terminology in both languages.

In many instances, even small mistakes in English German translation can lead to costly misunderstandings, lost or delayed contracts and other significant legal consequences.

In some countries, translators must be accredited to a nationally recognised body which means that their training and qualifications are suitable for most translation tasks. In some European countries, translators must swear before a court that their legal translations are accurate and in other countries (e.g. Italy), a legal translation must be accompanied by a certification that it is an accurate legal document. This level of accreditation is not uniform and in Britain and the U.S., for instance, accreditation and sworn statements are not mandatory by government authorities but they may have their own trade recognition which should satisfy the client who wants some confidence that they have chosen the right translator to work on their legal documents.