Translation For Lawyers

There are often cases, which are decided on the meaning of a single foreign word.   It is then that the court would carefully look at all the available translations of that word, the context, and more.

Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention sets out specific conditions under which an international air carrier can be held liable for injuries to passengers. It reads:

The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking. 

In other words, it allows the passengers to recover for "lesion corporelle"- a French term, which literally translates as "bodily injury", and is found in the authentic French text of Article 17.

Continue reading "Language Translations, French-English Translation, and the Case of Airline Liability for Emotional Distress" »

Earlier we've blogged about corporate translation services in the context of international arbitration. Although the purpose of arbitration is to allow for the amicable resolution of business disagreements, sometimes a party will be left unsatisfied with the choice of arbitrator. Both the arbitration done under the Rule of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or via internal (ad hoc) rules allow for a challenge. When raising a challenge, specific requirements must be met:

Continue reading "Language Translation & Interpreting for Corporate Litigation Attorneys, and Challenging Arbitrators under an International Arbitration Act" »

With the growing economic and political strength of the European Union, more and more transatlantic business is being conducted. This leads to an increase of transatlantic business contracts. Such contracts need to be translated into the language or languages of the European country, with which the U.S. company is conducting business. And, the more international business transactions there are, the more blurred the law that governs the enforcement of contracts becomes.

Continue reading "Legal Document Translation, and Enforcing U.S. Judgments in Europe" »

A recent article in The Washington Post explores a new flare-up of old tensions between French- and Dutch-speaking populations of Belgium. Many of these tensions spring up from the linguistic, cultural, and political obstacles (such as Flemish demands for greater autonomy), and cannot be easily overcome even with the help of professional legal French language translation and French language interpretation services, or with the help of professional legal Dutch language translation and Dutch language interpretation services.

Continue reading "Language & Cultural Barriers between French Speakers and Dutch Speakers Threaten to Break Up Belgium" »

Bankruptcy proceedings are difficult for any individual and any business. They can be even more burdensome for non-English-speaking debtors due to the language and cultural barriers. The Department of Justice helps the non-English speakers by providing Vietnamese translation, Hmong translation, Tagalog translation, Korean translation, Chinese translation, French translation, Arabic translation, and Spanish translation of Bankruptcy Information Sheet on its Web site.

Continue reading "Translations of Bankruptcy Information Sheet, and Court Interpreters for 341 Meetings" »

There are two types of statements available on U.S. Department of State’s Web site, which have been translated into 17 foreign languages, and can be shown to foreign detainees.

They include: Arabic translation; Cambodian translation; Chinese translation; Creole translation; Farsi translation; French translation; German translation; Italian translation; Japanese translation; Korean translation; Laotian translation; Polish translation; Portuguese translation; Russian translation; Spanish translation; Thai translation; and Vietnamese translation.

Continue reading "Translations of Consular Notification Statement in 17 Languages" »

Thanks to US Department of Justice, your foreign-born clients can find Arabic translation, Cambodian translation, Chinese translation, Farsi translation, French translation, Haitian Creole translation, Hmong translation, Hindi translation, Korean translation, Laotian translation, Punjabi translation, Russian translation, Spanish translation, Tagalog translation, Urdu translation, Vietnamese translation of “Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination” brochure here.

Continue reading "Translation of “Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination” Brochure into 16 Foreign Languages" »

Thanks to I/P Updates we just learned that France has ratified the London Agreement. This fact does away with the need to translate patents into all the languages of the EPO's Contracting States. Your clients no longer need to worry about needing Bulgarian translations; Czech translation; Danish translations; Dutch translation; Estonian translations; Finnish translations; Greek translations; Hungarian translations; Icelandic translations; Irish Gaelic translations; Italian translations; Latvian translations; Lithuanian translations; Luxembourgish translations; Maltese translations; Polish translations; Portuguese translations; Romanian translations; Slovak translations; Slovenian translations; Spanish translations; Swedish translations; and Turkish translations.

Continue reading "Patent Translation Costs To Drop as France Ratifies London Agreement" »

To get an international patent filed in accordance with the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) procedures, the applicant must submit a translated copy of the patent contents to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) within 18 months in one of the official languages recognized under the treaty.

Continue reading "Portuguese and Korean Recognized as Official WIPO Languages" »

Attorneys, representing foreign-born clients, should always look for the opportunities to reach out to their culturally diverse clients in their languages. Multilingual translations of many government publications make this task easy for immigration lawyers. The USCIS, for instance, offers Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Tagalog, Portuguese, French, Haitian-Creole, and Spanish translations of "Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants".

Continue reading "English-Chinese, English-Russian, English-Korean, English-Arabic, English-French, English-Haitian Creole, English-Tagalog, English-Spanish, English-Vietnamese, English-Portuguese Translations of "A Guide for New Immigrants"" »

You’ve done your part learning about the legal system of your foreign client’s home country. But don’t you wish your foreign-born client had a better understanding of our judicial system?

Professional multilingual translations of many government publications can help improve that understanding. Whether your foreign-born clients are studying for their U.S. citizenship exam, or are planning to visit Washington, D.C. as tourists, they’ll appreciate getting the information on the history and function of the U.S. Supreme Court translated into their languages.

Continue reading "Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish Translations of Supreme Court Publications" »

Lawyers, who represent foreign-born individuals, face a number of challenges. And while some of them, such as language barriers, can be overcome with the help of a competent court interpreter, other barriers- cultural and conceptual- require a good understanding of the culture and the legal system of the foreign client's country of origin, and the ability to educate the newcomers about our legal system.

Continue reading "Translation for Immigration Attorneys: Share Foreign-Language Translations of "The Federal Court System in the United States" with Your Foreign Clients" »

Would your foreign-born clients appreciate getting U.S. government documents, translated into Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Cantonese, Chinese, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek? And how about translations into Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Haitian-Creole? You bet!

Continue reading "Government Document Translations in Languages of Your Multilingual Clients" »

Is your client thinking about filing an application with the European Patent Office (EPO)? Accurate patent translations play an important role in every stage of the process, and shouldn’t be gambled with.

The European Patent Office has three official languages: English, French and German. It permits the filing of an application in one of its three official languages.

Continue reading "Patent Translations into Official Languages of EPO’s Contracting States Essential for Obtaining European Patents" »

A limited number of French, German, Austrian, and Israeli legal materials and their German into English, French into English, and Hebrew into English translations are available for free through the The Institute for Transnational Law’s Web site. These legal documents are from the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract and tort law.

Continue reading "French-English, German-English, and Hebrew-English Translations of Foreign Laws Available for Free" »