Are you a lawyer, in-house counsel or consultant involved in a cross-border dispute, and need to have an arbitral award translated? This document, central to international arbitration proceedings, must be understood, recognized and even enforced across borders. Its translation requires absolute rigor, both legally and linguistically.
Here's why you can't afford any mistakes.
An arbitral award entails specific legal obligations
Rendered by an arbitral tribunal, an arbitral award is a final and binding decision for the parties. It can be used :
- in exequatur proceedings to obtain enforcement of the award in another country;
- as evidence in foreign judicial or administrative proceedings;
- in support of post-litigation negotiations or cross-border out-of-court settlements.
Every word counts. Imprecise wording can lead to rejection, misinterpretation or, worse, significant financial and procedural consequences for your customer.
Legal translation: rigorous terminology and mastery of comparative law
Translating an arbitration award is not just a matter of making a literal version. It requires :
- master the specific language of arbitration (lex arbitri, exequatur, dispositif, tribunal composé, etc.);
- respect the logical structure of legal reasoning, which is often complex and technical;
- making concepts specific to one legal system understandable in another national context ;
- adapt the wording so that it is admissible before the courts or authorities concerned.
This requires not only a perfect knowledge of the languages concerned, but above all solid expertise in international business law, procedural law and comparative law.
Case study: enforcing an arbitral award before a foreign tax authority
A Paris-based law firm recently entrusted Legal 230 to translate a French-language arbitration award in a dispute between two European companies. The award was to be produced before a Dutch tax authority, in the context of a dispute concerning withholding taxes.
The translation had to faithfully reflect the tax issues decided by the arbitral tribunal, while respecting the technical requirements and terminology of Dutch tax law. A simple approximation in the interpretation of a paragraph could have weakened the client's position. Thanks to a rigorous legal translation, the document was recognized as valid and the proceedings were able to continue unhindered.
Why entrust this task to specialized legal translators?
A general translator, even an experienced one, will not be able to :
- identify the relevant legal equivalents between two legal systems ;
- secure the legal style expected in the destination country;
- ensure consistency between technical terms, legal references and expected legal effects.
At Legal 230we work exclusively with translators trained in international law and arbitration, who work in their mother tongue and to the standards imposed by the arbitration institutions (UNCITRAL, ICC, ICSID, LCIA...).
Do you need to translate an arbitral award? Secure its international scope.
An arbitration award is not a document like any other. Its translation engages your responsibility and can have a direct impact on your procedures, deadlines and results.
👉 Call on Legal 230 for an accurate, reliable legal translation that's perfectly suited to the requirements of international arbitration.