Professional secrecy and personal data in Polish–Ukrainian translation

Confidentiality covers facts and circumstances learned during translation

The basis of confidentiality is Art. 14(1)(2) of the Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator. It covers facts and circumstances learned by the translator in connection with translation. This protection extends beyond personal data: it also covers commercial arrangements, the content of conversations, information about disputes and the way documentation is prepared. The obligation arises in connection with professional activity. Art. 29b provides a separate rule: confidentiality continues even when the President of the Personal Data Protection Office requests disclosure of protected information. [1]

In interpreting, the material may consist of statements not recorded in any attachment. During a notarial act, a contract meeting or questioning, the interpreter learns the participants' details and the content of their statements. In written translation, notes on the reverse, stamps, correspondence explaining an abbreviation and an earlier contract version supplied for comparison play a similar role. The scope of the order should therefore distinguish the document to be translated, supporting material and organisational information. This distinction organises translation work and identifies which files belong in the final set for the recipient.

Purpose of the order and appropriate processing basis

The GDPR requires, among other things, a specified purpose, an adequate scope of data, accuracy and information security. Art. 6 provides various grounds for processing. Client data necessary to enter into or perform a contract may be processed under Art. 6(1)(b); fulfilling a specific statutory obligation requires consideration of point (c). Consent is a separate ground, rather than a common justification for every operation performed in handling an order. The choice of ground depends on the purpose, type of data and relationship with the data subject. Third-party data requires assessment appropriate to their situation. [2]

The person ordering a translation of an employment certificate may also be the person described in it. Articles of association, a marriage certificate or a messaging-app conversation also involve other people. A quotation usually requires establishing the language, length, legibility and type of material; completing the translation requires its agreed content. Medical records may contain special categories of data additionally covered by Art. 9 GDPR, while information on criminal convictions and offences falls under Art. 10. Separating quotation, performance and delivery stages helps determine the information needed at each stage. [2]

Register, surnames and supporting documents

Art. 17 of the Act specifies the information recorded in the repertory: identification of the client, description of the document, type of act, translation language, number of pages and copies, and remuneration. For interpreting, this also includes the date, place, scope and duration of the act. These are statutory components of professional records. The repertory number then appears in the certified translation under art. 18 ust. 2. Billing, the record of the act and the translation issued thus serve different functions, although they may contain some of the same identifying data. [1]

For Ukrainian documents, a travel document or its copy is common supporting material. Art. 14 ust. 2 identifies these as the basis for rendering first names and surnames transferred from non-Latin scripts. In the assignment, it is useful to indicate that a given file is intended to establish the spelling of a surname, while the document being translated is, for example, a diploma or birth certificate. The page number and a clear match between the person and the document being translated matter. If the client provides a document issued after a surname change, the connection between the two forms can be established from the relevant record or other source material. [1]

Transferring files and identifying the recipient

Before sending the material, you can prepare a simple inventory: document name, number of pages, language, purpose and whether it is a translation source or a supporting attachment. Separate folders for documents belonging to several family members or business partners reduce mistakes in attributing data. Clear filenames also help distinguish a draft from a signed document. The scope of an extract translation should specify particular pages or messages; its description in the completed translation must match the material actually presented. Defining the scope of an assignment and technically removing data from a file are two separate activities.

Art. 32 GDPR (RODO) links security measures to the risk and nature of processing. In practice, the agreed transfer channel, correct recipient address, folder access and delivery method for the completed file matter for an assignment. If an attorney, company employee or family member collects the translation, that person should be identified unambiguously. For an electronically certified translation, the signed file must be supplied in its proper form. An additional printout or preview may be used for reading, but collection arrangements should also include the proper electronic document and associated attachments. [2]

Retention period and data subject rights

The Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator contains its own provision on retention of personal data. Under Art. 29c, the period is four years from the end of the calendar year in which the data was collected. After that period, the data must be deleted unless further retention is necessary to protect rights or pursue claims. For example, for data collected in 2026, the four years run from the end of that year. The rule concerns personal data; arrangements for returning an entrusted paper original are a separate matter relating to document handling. [1]

Art. 29a governs the relationship between GDPR (RODO) rights and professional confidentiality. Access to data and copies, restriction of processing and the obligation to inform recipients of rectification, erasure or restriction apply insofar as they do not breach the confidentiality specified in art. 14 ust. 1 pkt 2. The Act also excludes the objection under art. 21 ust. 1 GDPR (RODO) in respect of data collected in connection with translation. For a request concerning a specific act, the repertory number, assignment date and document identification are helpful: they allow the material concerned to be identified. [1]

Documents in proceedings and confidentiality research

In its judgment of 2 March 2023 in C-268/21, Norra Stockholm Bygg, the Court of Justice of the EU considered disclosure of a staff register in a civil dispute over work performed. The register contained data previously collected for tax purposes. The Court referred to the application of Art. 6(3) and (4) GDPR and the need to consider the interests of data subjects and the principle of proportionality. The judgment concerns the production of a document for judicial proceedings. When preparing material for translation, it is therefore important to identify precisely the document and scope covered by the request in the particular case. [3]

Jiaojiao Huang, Xi Wang and Lucas N. Vieira described translators' perceptions of privacy, confidentiality and information security in a study published in 2026. The survey concerns professional practices and data management, not the content of Polish statutory obligations. [4] In everyday orders, these areas intersect when selecting supporting materials, agreeing the transfer channel and identifying the recipient. A useful order description therefore covers the text for translation, a list of people handling its transfer and the expected final document format. These are concrete details needed to organise the work.

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