Legal Translation

From the perspective of jurisprudence, legal translation refers to the translation activities of documents and oral communications involved in the stages of legal formulation, execution, and application, representing the specific manifestation of foreign factors in various stages of legal operation. In the stages of legal formulation, execution, and application, if related documents need to be translated, translators should adhere to the guiding principles of legal translation to maintain the stability and predictability of the legal system. Therefore, the judgment criteria for legal translation from a legal perspective is not whether the translation content is related to the law, but whether the translated documents will be used in the stages of legal formulation, execution, and application.

Based on the different attributes of the translated text, legal translation can be further classified. The translation of legislative documents includes the translation of laws and regulations promulgated by national legislative bodies, departmental regulations of government departments, and local regulations issued by local legislative institutions. The translation of legislative documents involves translating Chinese legislative documents into foreign languages as well as translating foreign legislative documents into Chinese. The translation of judicial procedural documents includes various judicial documents related to the stages of filing, trial, and enforcement of foreign-related cases, primarily serving the needs of the legal application stage. The translation of relevant documents in administrative law enforcement procedures mainly refers to the translation conducted by Chinese administrative law enforcement agencies during the process of administrative management of foreigners in China in accordance with legal requirements, mainly involving public security management, visas, and other areas. Contracts, announcements, and other documents in the civil and commercial fields represent the expressions of intent of one party, two parties, or multiple parties, producing corresponding legal effects based on the applicable laws. Taking contracts as an example, although the drafting and signing of contracts may not be directly related to any legal procedures, in case of disputes in the future, contracts are crucial foundational documents in dispute resolution judicial procedures.

Law is a normative behavior, requiring legal language to be accurate due to its normativity and universality. While the inherent ambiguity of language cannot be eliminated, the basic principle of translation demands fidelity to the original text. The accuracy of legal translation lies in the necessity for precise wording, as legal language is professional and standardized, even synonyms have differences in legal applications. Compared to other social norms, the structure of legal norms is more rigorous, setting patterns, standards, or directions for people's behaviors. The normativity of law determines the standardization of legal translation language, requiring translators to not only possess bilingual abilities but also have a considerable understanding of the legal systems of both the source and target countries. Especially with legal terminology and the rules of legal document expression, if the translation does not adhere to the norms of legal expression, even if the content matches the original text, the translation may not be convincing.

Under the influence of legal cultural differences, translation methods such as literal translation, free translation, and addition or omission of vocabulary can be used. Guided by the principles of legal translation, translators, with a background in legal knowledge, should combine the characteristics of the vocabulary and choose appropriate translation methods to achieve better translation results.

◀️：Important Considerations for Documents

▶️：Considerations for Legal Translation