The Spanish translation of legal documents most definitely requires a specialized, professional translator, especially if the material or document is to have legal validity. LanguageTran understands the importance of this and is able to procure the expert Spanish legal translators for your particular legal translation project. Whether you want to translate a personal legal document or need translation of court records, legal informative material or business contracts, we are ready to serve you.

How to choose competent legal Spanish translators?

1- Posses intimate knowledge of the legal systems involved

Not only must the Spanish legal translator be a native speaker of Spanish, he or she must be completely versed in the requirements of the legal system of the Spanish-speaking countries where the material will be used. When you consider how many different countries speak Spanish, each with its own legal tradition, peculiarities and complexities, you can easily appreciate the highly specialization that is required of a Spanish legal translators.

Mexico, for instance, has a highly evolved legal system with roots that come from the Spanish, French, Greek and Roman systems. The Mexican legal system is more closely aligned with other legal systems in Latin America and most of Europe than that of the U.S.  In the U.S. a common law system prevails based generally on the case law and statutory law of England. Therefore in the U.S., customs and outcomes of previous cases rather than legislative dictates predominate, whereas in Mexico a civil law system predominates. The predefined civil law codes and statutes of the Mexican civil law system were first compiled by the Roman Emperor Justinian, were later transformed into the French Napoleonic Code of 1804, and carried into Mexico through the French rule briefly established there in a seminal moment. As an overlay, Mexico’s legal system also draws on Spain’s colonial law, characterized by the intricate regulation with elaborate writing of contracts associated with every important aspect of one’s life. Mexico’s legal system also includes an important element of canon law, or religious law, put forth by the Catholic Church.

2- Well-versed in Spanish legal terms and formats

The Spanish legal translator must not only understand every aspect of the original text, he or she must recognize boilerplate texts in the original and their typical equivalents in the Spanish language. He must have a repertory of ideas as to how to express a concept from the original that may possibly have no direct equivalent in Spanish, and he must assume a tone appropriate to the Hispanic culture; moreover, he must be extremely vigilant to every detail – every aspect of signatures and notary seals, official stamps and the like – that could mean the difference to a document holding up or not in a court case.

Within the scope of legal translation, there are many different text types, genres and sub-genres, each of which requires a specific approach from the translator. The legal force of the translated document, that is, whether or not the translated document will have legal validity, is an important consideration. If only the original has legal validity and the translation is intended to explain the content of the original, then the translator would have more freedom to formulate the concepts in a flexible vocabulary. If, on the other hand, the translated document is to have legal validity, then the translator must make every effort to find equivalent legal terms for the two texts. This would be especially important if two different countries were involved rather than two languages within the same country and legal system, as for instance a U.S legal document translated into Spanish for use in a U.S. courtroom rather than a courtroom in Mexico or other Spanish-speaking country.

3- Scholarly

The good Spanish legal translator of necessity must be a true scholar and meticulous in every detail. Not only must he consult specialized bilingual dictionaries, he must know which dictionaries are the latest and most authorized. He must continually attend seminars and conferences to do with the particulars and latest developments in this vast field. He must be current and totally dedicated to his profession in order to assume the responsibility that a legal translation is a binding document for the participants of the contract, and therefore could and often does have real and direct consequences in people’s lives.