In an international context, translating laws and regulations is more than just changing languages. It's a highly precise exercise, with major legal, political and economic implications. An error of interpretation or an inaccurate term can have far-reaching consequences: procedural irregularities, loss of validity of an act, rejection by a foreign administration, or protracted litigation.
If you're a lawyer, in-house counsel, notary or compliance officer, here's what you really need to know before having this type of document translated.
Legal translation: why laws and regulations require special attention
Unlike a simple contract or correspondence, laws and regulations are normative texts. Their function is to set out general, sometimes mandatory, rules governing behavior in a given society. Each word carries weight. Each formulation can be interpreted differently in different legal systems.
In a cross-border context, these texts can be used to :
- Justifying a position before a foreign court ;
- Respond to a request from a local administrative authority (customs, taxation, health, public procurement);
- Ensuring compliance with foreign or European legislation;
- Evaluate the legal feasibility of a project to set up an international business or partnership.
Case in point: a French company wishing to participate in a public tender in Italy must provide an official translation of the environmental regulations in force at its production site. A poor translation of these texts can compromise the analysis of the file by the local commission.
High technical and terminological standards
Translating laws, decrees or regulations involves much more than linguistic knowledge. It requires :
➤ A thorough understanding of legal systems
A word can have a very different meaning depending on the legal system to which it belongs. The term "regulation", for example, does not refer to the same reality in French administrative law, European Community law or Anglo-Saxon common law.
➤ Rigorous structure and layout
Article numbering, cross-references, official citations: everything must be faithfully reproduced to preserve the authenticity and readability of the text.
➤ The use of official or codified terminology
Public bodies, courts of law and European institutions often have validated terminology bases. It is imperative to comply with them. A single poorly chosen term can render a document inadmissible or legally imprecise.
Why entrust this task to a specialized legal translator?
A generalist translator, even an experienced one, will not be able to grasp all the subtleties of legal language, nor the issues linked to the normative nature of these documents.
A legal translator specializing in public law:
- Is trained to read and analyze legislative texts;
- Mastery of legal correspondences between legal systems;
- Use reference tools such as IATE, EUR-Lex or official codes in several languages;
- Understands the context in which texts are used (litigation, taxation, calls for tender, administrative procedures, etc.);
- Works in collaboration with legal experts or lawyers when terminological arbitration is required.
This guarantees a reliable, usable translation that meets the expectations of national and international bodies.
Legal 230 expertise: supporting international legal professionals
For many years, Legal 230 has been assisting lawyers, public authorities and public institutions with the translation of legislative and regulatory texts. Our network of specialized legal translators works in over 230 languages and by field of law: taxation, environment, administrative law, public procurement, etc.
For example, we recently carried out the trilingual translation (French, Spanish, English) of a regulatory corpus on sanitary compliance for a food company wishing to export to Chile. The texts were then submitted to the local product control agency, which validated the translations without reservation. This saved time and made the administrative process more secure for the customer.
Things to remember
- Laws and regulations are texts with high legal value: translating them requires rigor, expertise and terminological conformity.
- A poor translation can lead to misunderstandings, blockages and even disputes.
- Only specialized legal translators, familiar with the subtleties of public law and international specificities, can guarantee a reliable result.
📩 Do you need to translate laws, decrees, orders or regulations for professional use abroad?
Contact Legal 230 for an accurate translation that meets the requirements of international authorities.