General conditions

Legal translations

Legal translation has its own problems, in part are a result of the idiosyncrasies of the language used, which is based on formulas and conventions, and tends towards conservatism. This is apparent in the fact that certain archaic morphological, syntactic and lexical features which have fallen into disuse in other linguistic areas still persist within the legal sphere. We must not forget that in legal translation this language performs a specific function, and for that reason precision is necessary regarding connotations and ambiguities, to the extent that this sometimes leads to redundancies and reiterations. In addition, there are significant differences between Law in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, which is based on case law and the analysis of individual cases, and continental Law in the Roman-Germanic tradition, based on the codification of laws which are applied universally.

For that reason, the translation of legal texts entails a series of difficulties which transcend the area of linguistics, and often require cultural compensation. For example, in the United Kingdom there are two types of law professionals, solicitors and barristers, depending on the courts in which they appear, while in other English-speaking countries, as in all Spanish-speaking ones, this distinction within the legal profession does not exist. In the same way, the legal translator must disregard "false friends" and distrust literal translations, as an engineer is not necessarily qualified in a branch of professional engineering, but may be a technician or an expert, and the functions performed by a notary do not exactly match those of a notario in Spain. A significant example is that of the term jurisprudence, which refers to the philosophy and theory of Law, and should not be confused with jurisprudencia in Spanish, which refers to sentences passed by various legal bodies which constitute a source of Law, and would be translated as case law. Thus, the legal translator must ensure that the target text is faithful to the original, which is of paramount importance in the case of sworn translations, which perform a specific function within legal processes.

At Cosmovega we are proud of the professional ethics and standing of our legal translators when facing these and other conflicts which sometimes arise during the process of a legal translation.

Our legal translators have the capability to faithfully reproduce the content of any legal document, producing legal translations which are eloquent, precise, and terminologically consistent.

Documents we translate include contracts, wills, powers of attorney, articles of incorporation, witness statements, employment documentation, arbitration proceedings, deeds, articles of association, judicial decisions, regulations, immigration documents, purchase contracts, guarantees, insurance policies, expert reports, and documents relating to intellectual or industrial property rights, etc.