Among legal and legal translation circles there is a popular saying at All contracts are agreements but all agreements are not contracts As we can see, the translation of legal deals and papers is a distinctly specific and expert area of translation. It needs to combine the technicalities of legalese and languages. An international agreement crosses boundaries, legal contexts, communities, and culture. Translation does get lost in vague wordings and translatorâs interpretation. Furthermore, the legal international translations and wordings which can have various legal impacts, so itâs imperative that the language used is both appropriate and unambiguous.
To decipher a legal contract or document with absolute exactness, here are some things you should keep in mind:
Avoiding Vitiating Factors Through Expert Translators
Vitiating factors are issues that might spoil the contract. The main vitiating factors of a contract are inaccuracy, undue influence, duress, misrepresentation, frustration, unconscionability, incapacity, and illegality. An example of a vitiating factor is when a party has been lied into entering into the contract due to false claims or misrepresentation. These vitiating factors can be avoided by the use of expert translators when drafting a contract.
To translate a legal contract precisely, a translator must have exceptional command over legal lingo. As mentioned improper translation can lead to confusion, or be open to misinterpretation. Be aware that your work could be the object of scrutiny later on. Legal contracts and documentation are related to the law of the land – a good translator should be familiar with local law and also to the fact that these laws can change.
