28
Jan

Although the official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish, the translation of legal documents and legal proceedings is critical and in high demand. Oftentimes, in the Dominican Republic communications need to be translated into a language other than Spanish or vice versa. Some examples of these cases are:

1. In hearings held in the Dominican Republic: This becomes necessary when a party or witness does not speak Spanish. A Judicial Interpreter (authorized and appointed by the judiciary of the Dominican Republic) would need to provide interpretation.

A common example occurs during Divorce proceedings in the Dominican Republic: during divorce hearings, when at least one of the parties does not speak Spanish, they must be accompanied by a judicial interpreter.

2. Documents that will be submitted to consulates and foreign countries (for certain immigration proceedings) need to be translated into their language if the language of that country is not Spanish. Some of the documents that commonly need to be translated by an authorized translator are:

• Criminal Records.
• Birth Certificates.
• Marriage certificates
• Death Certificates.
• Certifications from Public Entities.
• Among others.

3. Documents addressed to foreign universities for the purpose of studies or ratification. These documents usually need to be presented in their original language and translated into the language of the country where they will be used.

4. In entities located in the Dominican Republic, such as:

• The chamber of Commerce.
• The National Intellectual Property Office (known in Spanish as Onapi).
• The Courts.
• Among others.

Any document that will be deposited and enforced in a case must be translated into Spanish.

A common example takes place when a foreign company establishes a branch in the Dominican Republic or becomes associated with a Dominican company. In these cases, the documents that will be submitted must be translated into Spanish to be accepted by the institution and need to be apostilled or legalized. However, this is a different topic that we will discuss extensively in a separate article because of its importance.

5. Among many other cases in which it becomes necessary.

Many doubts or concerns revolve around the topic of document translation, which is why we decided to comment on the subject. Some of the doubts that are usually expressed to us are:

• Can a person who speaks a given language translate documents?

No, they cannot. In the Dominican Republic and many other countries, translations need to be authorized by those countries. Here in the Dominican Republic, those authorizations are issued by the Judicial Branch and these signatures are legalized and recognized nationally and internationally.

• Can I translate documents if I am proficient in a given language?

No, you cannot. Almost all translations are done with documents including legal terminology and the fact that you can speak a language does not mean that you are familiar with the language of legal nature.

It is ideal to validate who is translating a given document, given that some countries have very stringent regulations when it comes to translation (the Italian authorities for example). In the event that a translator is not authorized, documents translated by them would be rejected.

Can an individual be a translator and a judicial interpreter for any language?

Why is this a vague answer?

You may translate documents and be a judicial interpreter of any language, as long as you are authorized by the Judicial Branch. In other words, being authorized to work as an English translator does not make you qualified to perform the same duties for any other language.

In our firm Morillo Suriel Attorneys At Law, we have legal interpreters and translators available for various languages. We encourage you to contact us and inquire regarding any concerns you may have about any translation service you may need. Upon receiving your request, we will be sending you the information requested in no longer than thirty (30) minutes, depending on the size and cost of what you need to have translated.