1 General Introduction of Legal Documents

Legal document is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed writing that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or right, and therefore evidences that act, process, or agreement. Examples include a certificate, deed, bond, contract, will, legislative act, notaries act, court writ or process, or any law passed by a competent legislative body in municipal (domestic) or international law. Many legal instruments were written under seal by affixing a wax or paper seal to the document in evidence of its legal execution and authenticity (which often removes the need for consideration in contract law); however, today many jurisdictions have done away with the requirement of documents being under seal in order to give them legal effect. Others, such as Australia, have re-interpreted sealing as a formally attested signature.

Legal Document is a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Legal instrument; official document; instrument

Hyponyms ("legal instrument" is a kind of...):

Document; papers; written document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature))

Jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "legal instrument"):

Derivative; derivative instrument (a financial instrument whose value is based on another security)

Deed of trust; trust deed (a written instrument legally conveying property to a trustee often used to secure an obligation such as a mortgage or promissory note)

Conveyance (document effecting a property transfer)

Income tax return; return; tax return (document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer''s tax liability)

License; license; permit (a legal document giving official permission to do something)

Letters patent; patent (an official document granting a right or privilege)

Judgment; judgment; legal opinion; opinion (the legal document stating the reasons for a judicial decision)

Acquaintance; release (a legal document evidencing the discharge of a debt or obligation)

Judicial writ; writ ((law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer)

Authorizations; authorization; mandate (a document giving an official instruction or command)

Affidavit (written declaration made under oath; a written statement sworn to be true before someone legally authorized to administer an oath)

Written agreement (a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties)

Bill of indictment; indictment (a formal document written for a prosecuting attorney charging a person with some offense)

Impeachment (a formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office)

Arraignment (a legal document calling someone to court to answer an indictment)

Assignment (the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another)

Deed; deed of conveyance; title (a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it)

Living will (a document written by someone still legally capable requesting that they should be allowed to die if subsequently severely disabled or suffering terminal illness)

Negotiable instrument (an unconditional order or promise to pay an amount of money)

Passport (a document issued by a country to a citizen allowing that person to travel abroad and re-enter the home country)

Manifest (a customs document listing the contents put on a ship or plane)

Debenture (a certificate or voucher acknowledging a debt)

Power of attorney (a legal instrument authorizing someone to act as the grantor''s agent)

Letters of administration (legal document naming someone to administer an estate when no executor has been named)

Letters testamentary (a legal document from a probate court or court officer informing you of your appointment as executor of a will and empowering you to discharge those responsibilities)

Work papers; work permit; working papers (a legal document giving information required for employment of certain people in certain countries)

Act; enactment (a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body)

Law (legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity)

Bill; measure (a statute in draft before it becomes law)

Brief; legal brief (a document stating the facts and points of law of a client''s case)

Testament; will (a legal document declaring a person''s wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die)

Certificate; security (a formal declaration that documents a fact of relevance to finance and investment; the holder has a right to receive interest or dividends

With the onset of the Internet and electronic equipments such as the personal computers and cell-phones, legal instruments or formal legal documents have undergone a progressive change of dematerialization.

2. Features of Legal Documents

2.1 Features In Lexicon

When opening up English legal documents, we can easily find such a phenomenon, that is, to express a single concept by combining two or more synonyms, which can be referred to as “repetition of synonyms”. Some of the most commonly used can be listed as follows:

Rules and regulations

Provisions and stipulations

Terms and conditions

Damage or injury

Full force and effect

Property or chattels or goods

Larceny or theft or stealing

Null and void

Safe and sound

Due or collectible

Repetition of synonyms plays a very important role in English legal documents, which can be summed up into the following two aspects:

a. Enhancing the preciseness of Legal Documents As we know, preciseness is the soul and life of Legal Documents and repetition of synonyms can just work in this drive. Perhaps, that’s why the sentence “When in doubt, say it twice.” has become the motto of many legal professionals.

b. Making Legal Documents easy to remember: From such phrases as aid and abet, part and parcel and safe and sound, it is not so difficult for us to recognize that they apply the figure of speech called “alliteration”, which makes them easier to remember and read.

Some formal compound prepositional phrases such as for the purpose of, in place of , by virtue of, in accordance with, with regard to, etc. are frequently used in legal documents, the reason for which is that legal professionals think it lacks preciseness to use single prepositions and may lead to misinterpretations. In view of their construction, such compound prepositional phrases usually appear to be a pattern of “preposition + noun + preposition”.

2.2 Features In Grammar

2. 2. 1 Usage Of Non-Predicate Verbs

“The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathize — that many people refuses to interpret the scarlet letter “A” by its original signification” (Rubinstein, 1988). We can see that the meaning of the scarlet letter “A” changes from adultery to being able, angel and admirable. At the beginning, people living in the town looked down upon the woman because of her crime. But later, they find that Hester is so skillfully in needlework and she always help the poor and sick without expecting any return or thanks. She is unselfish and always ready to help others considerately and patiently. People in the town then realize her noble nature and change the view on her. “Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester — the town’s own Hester — who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted” (Hawthorne, 1994). The people in the town soon begin to regard the letter “A” as a badge served to ward off the evil. This is a kind woman who should not shoulder the shame and be looked down upon by others. Hester is an angel sent by God to the people in the town. And she should win the respect and sympathy of others instead of being punished by having to show her crime to the public by wearing the scarlet letter. People and the author of the novel really admire her pure nature and ability.

The three changes in the scarlet letter are significant; they show the progressive presentation of her sin, her lonely life, and her ability. Hester is an admirable woman who experiences more emotional torture than most people go through in a lifetime.

2.2.2 Omission Of Articles

When particularly referring to something or somebody, the definite article can not be omitted. However, as a branch of Legal Documents, English for L/C often leaves out the definite article “the”, which can be illustrated by the following sentences.

w Expiry Date: October 31, 1998 in country of beneficiary unless otherwise specified (the definite article “the” disappears before “country” and “beneficiary”)

In Contract English, “the same” is often used to refer to a noun or a noun phrase already appeared in the same sentence, which functions as “it” or “them” applied in other styles. For instance:

w Within 60 days after Party A has received the documents from Party B, if Party A does not declare any shortage and request to cover the same, it is considered as accepted. (Of which, “the same” refers to “any shortage”)

In addition, “the same” can also be simplified as “same” by omitting “the”. For example:

w We have heard from your branch office and have replied to same.

2.3 Features In Sentence Pattern And Structure

2.3.1 Usage Of Assertive Sentences

As is known, English sentences can be classified into assertive sentences, interrogative sentences, imperative sentences and interjectional sentences in line with the purposes in applying them. As legal documents concern rights and obligations, everything should be based on actual facts without either subjective wills or personal emotions being involved in. Therefore, assertive sentences take a lion’s share in Legal Documents with the exclusion of interrogative sentences, imperative sentences and interjectional sentences. For instance, the United States Constitution and Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is almost dominated with assertive sentences. Specific examples can be offered as below:

w The arbitration Commission has one honorary Chairman and several advisers.

w The Chairman performs the functions and duties vested by him by these Rules and the Vice-Chairman may perform the Chairman’s functions and duties with Chairman’s authorization.

w The arbitration tribunal shall hold oral hearings when examining a case.

In judicial practice, due to the needs for inquiries, questioning and interrogations, various types of interrogative sentences may be used. For example:

w Mr. Smith, you just said the victim was one of your good friends, didn’t you?

In describing prohibitive and obligatory rules and regulations, the legal language can sometimes resort to imperative sentences. For example:

w Prohibit the sale of alcohol to minors.

In addition, interjectional sentences are sometimes applied in both statements of defense and public prosecution for the purpose of playing up the atmosphere and making the statements convincing.

2.3.2 Usage Of Complete Sentences

Owning to the structural integrity and notional preciseness of legal documents, sentences with both subjects and predicates available, namely, complete sentences are usually deployed in ELP with little usage of elliptical or mononuclear sentences so as to prevent ambiguity and distortion. For example:

w “Invention” in the Patent Law means any new technical solution relating to a product, a process or an improvement thereof. “Utility Model” in the Patent Law means any new technical solution relating to the shape, the structure, or their combination, of a product, which is fit for practical use. “Design” in the Patent Law means any new design of the shape, pattern, color, or their combination, of a product, which creates an aesthetic feeling and is fit for industrial application.40

As indicated in this sentence, unlike common English, Legal Documents does not leave out but repeat the same part by using complete subject-predicate sentences so as to fully deliver the contents of legal documents.

3 Related Principles in Chinese-English translation of Legal Documents

Over the years, “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” has always been taken as the standard in evaluating the quality of translations. In view of the unique features of Legal Documents its translation should adhere to the criteria of “preciseness, conciseness and infirmness”, which can be referred to as an echoing for the standard of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance”. In addition, special attention should also be paid to the following principles in translation of legal documents.