How to establish what the received package contains
A document commonly described as a judgment may consist of several parts: the ruling, reasons, notice of rights and additional certifications. The package may also contain orders concerning other issues in the same case. Before commissioning a translation, identify which documents are to be translated and what they will be used for. The case reference, date, authority name and page count distinguish successive documents. It is useful to retain the envelope or a separate service document if its contents are also to be translated.
The operative part sets out the decision, while the statement of reasons explains its grounds and reasoning. The notice of rights provides information about specified entitlements and how to act. A certificate of finality or another official annotation may appear on a separate page or be added to the issued copy. Omitting such a page changes the scope of the material submitted for translation. When scanning, therefore, check both the page sequence and the reverse sides. If the recipient needs only a specified section, the scope should be marked so that the translation is not presented as covering the entire document.
Service in a criminal case: Art. 72 § 3
An accused person who lacks sufficient command of Polish is served with the documents specified in art. 72 § 3 KPK together with a translation. The provision lists orders presenting, supplementing or amending charges, the indictment and rulings subject to appeal or concluding proceedings. With the accused's consent, it is possible to limit this to pronouncement of the translated ruling concluding proceedings if the ruling is not subject to appeal. [1] In practice, it is therefore important to establish the type of decision received, its stage and the way its content is presented, rather than equating every oral explanation with a written translation of a document served.
Directive 2010/64/EU governs translation of documents essential to the defence. It identifies in particular decisions depriving a person of liberty, a charge or indictment, and a judgment. It permits omission of passages irrelevant to understanding the case and, under specified conditions, oral translation or an oral summary without compromising the fairness of proceedings. [3] When reporting a problem with a received document, specify the missing part and its connection with understanding the decision. A privately ordered translation for another purpose should be distinguished from translation provided under these procedural rights.
Penalty orders and the significance of the decision
In Sleutjes, C-278/16, the Court of Justice of the European Union (TSUE) held that a German penalty order issued by a judge in a simplified procedure was an essential document within the meaning of the Directive, requiring written translation for an accused person unfamiliar with the language of proceedings. [4] The significance of the ruling follows from the document’s function: it contained a decision in response to which the person had to make a procedural choice. This proposition should not be extended to every document in every case. It does show, however, that a document’s title and a simplified procedure for issuing it do not determine that translation is unnecessary.
A translation of a decision must preserve what the ruling concerns, to whom it is addressed and what obligations or rights it establishes. Conditions, deadlines stated in the text and relationships between individual points also matter. The sum awarded, costs and interest must be clearly distinguished. If a document concerns several accused persons or several claims, the translation must preserve the allocation of each point to the correct person or issue. Numbering helps link the translation to the ruling and the subsequent reasons for its individual parts.
For monetary rulings, it is worth checking how each amount relates to its legal basis and recipient. A document may separately specify the principal amount, costs, an obligation to repay a particular sum and interest for a stated period. The translation must preserve the currency, numerical notation and conditions described under each point. If an amount appears both in figures and in words, any discrepancy between them should be reproduced as a feature of the document, rather than independently corrected. References to an earlier point or annex must likewise be preserved. The recipient needs to establish whether a reference concerns all parties, one person or a particular obligation. When ordering a partial translation, it is therefore necessary to check whether the point being translated depends on a definition or finding elsewhere in the same ruling.
Legal terminology and institution names
Polish procedural terms do not always have equivalents with identical scope in the Ukrainian system. A translation should reproduce a concept’s function in the particular document rather than substitute a similarly named institution. Distinguishing judgments, orders, procedural directions and statements of reasons helps clarify the structure of the case. Terminological consistency throughout the package matters. The same term should remain linked to the same function unless the document’s context requires different meanings to be distinguished. In that case, an explanation should identify the source of the difference rather than create an appearance of uniformity.
Fernando Prieto Ramos discusses the interdisciplinary scope of legal translation research and the importance of legal context in describing the field. [5] In practice, preparing a translation of a ruling primarily requires information from the document itself: the authority, type of case, basis stated in the ruling and references to other decisions. Article numbers and case references must be preserved so the reader can identify the cited source. The name of a court or prosecutor's office should remain linked to the actual unit, including when the translation is intended for a recipient outside Poland.
When translating into Ukrainian, it is useful to distinguish a criminal judgment, a civil judgment, a court order and an order of an authority conducting proceedings. Their names should be chosen with regard to the document's function and author. This does not mean attributing to a Polish ruling the effects provided for a similarly named Ukrainian institution. The court identification, case reference and basis stated in the text remain the reader's reference points.
Versions, corrections and official annotations
Case files may contain a draft, an uncertified printout, an issued copy and a document bearing a later annotation. Identify which form was supplied for translation. The professional Act requires a certified translation to specify whether it was made from an original, translation or copy, and whether the source was certified and by whom. [2] This description concerns the material actually presented to the translator. A scan file alone should not be described as though the translator inspected a paper original that was not provided for checking.
If a correction, additional order or supplement was issued after the ruling, it must be supplied together with the document it concerns. For two versions bearing the same case reference, it is useful to provide dates and identify the differences. A marginal note, stamp or signature may contain information important for identifying the copy issued. Illegibility should be identified during preparation rather than reconstructing a marking by conjecture. A new scan of that section should preserve its position on the page so it can be assigned to the correct document.
Order scope and use of the translation
The recipient may need the full ruling with reasons or a particular part for a specified purpose. The order should name the documents and pages and, for extracts, state that the translation will be partial. Specify the required delivery deadline and format: paper or electronic. The Act permits electronic certification by a sworn translator using a qualified electronic signature. [2] This differs from an ordinary scan of a paper translation. The choice should meet the particular recipient's requirements, so information on document submission is useful at the quotation stage.
Dates in a ruling, notice of rights and service documents must remain distinct in translation. The issue date is not the same as the dispatch or receipt date. If the text specifies a deadline or how it is calculated, the conditions must be retained. When ordering, provide the date by which the recipient must receive the document and the source of that information. The translation should preserve the notice of rights and names of remedies so they can be related to the correct document and proceedings.
Questions and answers
Does translating a judgment automatically include its reasons?
The scope should be established from the documents supplied. If reasons are needed, include all their pages and identify them in the order. The same applies to instructions, corrections and finality annotations. A file title alone does not establish that the package is complete.
Can I order a translation of specific points only?
Translation of an identified extract can be agreed, with its partial scope clearly stated. Check the recipient's requirements and preserve the source document with the context surrounding the translated points. References to annexes or other parts may be needed to understand the extract correctly.
How does a scan differ from an electronically certified translation?
A scan shows an image of a paper document. Electronic certification under art. 18 ust. 1a of the professional Act requires the sworn translator's qualified electronic signature. When ordering, establish which form the recipient accepts and how the document will be delivered. [2]