In cross-border litigation, e-mail exchanges can become essential documents. They serve to prove the parties' intentions, clarify a chronology or demonstrate bad faith. Translating them into an international legal context requires rigor, precision and expertise. If you need to present correspondence before a foreign court or attach it to a file with evidential value, here's what you need to know.
Why translate your e-mails carefully?
You might think that these are simply informal exchanges. However, in an international commercial dispute, a string of e-mails can be presented as evidence by either party. Whether in a debt collection case, a contractual dispute or a case of unfair competition, these e-mails become evidence.
Let's take a concrete example: a French law firm defends a company sued in Germany for unfair breach of contract. The plaintiff bases his claim on a series of e-mails exchanged in English. For the defense to be admissible and understandable by German judges, these messages must be translated into German, with a perfect command of legal terminology.
Specific requirements for translating e-mail exchanges
Unlike contracts or articles of association, e-mails often mix several registers of language. It contains idiomatic expressions, abbreviations, elements of oral language, and sometimes even irony or the implicit. In a contentious context, every word counts. A misinterpretation can change the meaning of an exchange and impact the outcome of the dispute.
A non-specialized translator could :
- Neglecting the legal character of a trivial passage;
- Forget the terminology specific to the applicable law(commercial, tax, civil, etc.);
- Or fail to accurately transcribe the temporality or tone of words.
This is why the legal translation of e-mail exchanges requires very specific skills. It relies on :
- A perfect understanding of the law involved;
- Knowledge of the rules of evidence specific to each jurisdiction;
- The ability to faithfully reproduce the tone, chronology and context of the exchange.
Why use a translator specializing in litigation?
In legal proceedings, any approximation can backfire. The judge or administrative authority consulting your documents will only have access to the translated version. It is this version that will bear the burden of proof.
When you call on the services of an expert legal translator, you can be sure that :
- Legal terms are correctly transposed into the target language;
- The exchange style is respected (formal, aggressive, concise, etc.);
- Key elements are not lost in translation.
At Legal 230, we are regularly called upon to translate electronic correspondence in sensitive contexts: commercial disputes between European companies, tax fraud cases, international arbitration proceedings, and so on. In each case, we combine our linguistic expertise with a rigorous legal reading of the case.
A case in point: e-mail exchanges with foreign tax authorities
A French company, audited by the Spanish tax authorities, had to prove its contractual relationship with a local supplier. The inspectors demanded certified translations of all e-mails exchanged over the last two years.
The difficulty lay not only in the quantity, but also in the precision expected by the Spanish authorities: price indications, delivery terms, cancellation conditions, etc. A simple word misinterpreted could have triggered an unjustified adjustment. A single misinterpreted word could have triggered an unjustified adjustment. Thanks to a specialized legal translation, the company was able to provide the expected proof and secure its position.
In a nutshell
Translatinge-mail exchanges in a legal context is never trivial. It requires :
- An expert reading of the litigation context;
- Rigorous terminology and style;
- A thorough understanding of transnational legal issues.
Are you involved in an international dispute? Do you need to present an e-mail exchange to a foreign authority? Entrust their translation to legal specialists.
Legal 230 will support you with seriousness, responsiveness and discretion.
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