Top-quality specialist translations by specialist native-language translators

Settled: Legal translations

Conflicts and disputes are part of human nature.

Law as an abstract, collective term encompasses catalogues of statutes, regulations and ordinances, and agreements and treaties affecting various areas of public and private life. The legal system aims to regulate human coexistence in a binding and lasting fashion towards avoiding social conflict.

ConText® translations for leading corporations, financial institutions, courts, and public prosecutors

The legal specialist translators at ConText® possess thorough knowledge of the national legal system applicable for the target language, covering every legal area pertinent to corporations, medium-sized companies, and family-run businesses. As an established translation agency for legal translations, we take a practical approach towards preparing legal translations for leading corporations and financial companies. We also translate for courts and public prosecutors across Germany as well as the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Cross-border crime, European investigation orders

International legal assistance in criminal matters often requires certified translations together with original documents to ensure that all parties involved are able to understand the subject matter at hand. This can play a crucial role especially in dealing with cross-border crime.

Right to translation in criminal proceedings

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) states that every crime suspect has a right to have criminal charges and documents essential to defence translated into a language that the suspect understands. This right forms an essential part of the right to a fair trial and aims to ensure that every defendant is in a position to follow the proceedings and conduct a proper defence.

The terminology needs to be accurate, and also validated in the target language.

We ensure optimal workflows and create the conditions for high-quality translations. As an example, we use translation memories and language resources from the European Union with all the legal provisions passed by the EU such as treaties, regulations, and directives in twenty-four official languages for terminology.

So many countries, so many customs: Differences between legal systems

Differences in terminology aside, the specialist translators at ConText® also take structural differences between legal systems in the respective countries into account. Some legal terms may be defined differently in one legal system compared to another, and the form and structure of contracts and legal documents may vary. Our legal specialist translators are always in a position to interpret texts into the target legal context and adapt the text accordingly.

EmpCo: Legally Compliant Sustainability Communications – Across Language Barriers

With the transposition of the European EmpCo Directive (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) into German law, stricter requirements for environmental and sustainability claims in corporate and product communications will apply from 27 September 2026. Companies will therefore need not only to review environmental claims in their source texts, but also to ensure that they are rendered accurately and transparently, in compliance with regulatory requirements, across all language versions.

Terms such as ‘sustainable’, ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘climate-friendly’ or ‘CO₂-neutral’ may no longer be used in a generic or misleading manner. Stricter rules will also apply to climate-neutrality claims based on carbon offsetting, environmental and sustainability labels, claims relating to future environmental performance, and information concerning recyclability, durability or repairability. In this context, linguistic precision is often crucial: Does a claim relate to the product as a whole or only to its packaging? Does it describe a substantiated characteristic or imply a general environmental benefit? Are the necessary qualifications and specifications equally clear in the target language?

This is precisely where legal translation plays a particularly important role. A claim that has been carefully worded and legally reviewed in the source text may acquire a different meaning or scope if translated too freely or imprecisely. This is why our specialist translators translate environmental claims, product information and sustainability communications with due regard to context and with the required terminological precision. In doing so, they ensure that relevant distinctions, qualifications and the precise scope of individual claims are preserved in each target language.

For companies operating internationally, EmpCo therefore also establishes an important principle: compliance does not stop at language barriers. ConText® helps you translate approved wording consistently across your target languages and manage your terminology and translation memories to ensure that claims with regulatory implications are communicated consistently across all languages.

Keep It Simple – Easy-to-Read or Plain Language

Messages only get through when they are expressed in language that is appropriate for their audience. In the legal field in particular, we can also adapt your texts into Easy-to-Read or Plain Language where needed.

ConText® Law practice group

Legal translation requires a high level of precision, expertise, and accuracy. Our Law practice group provides access to outstanding specialist translators in this field. Examples include legal briefs, court rulings and judgments, petitions, claims, and applications to court as well as terms and conditions, contracts, and commercial register entries. The legal specialist translators at ConText® have proven expertise in employment law, regulatory law, banking and finance law, capital markets, corporate governance and compliance, data protection and privacy, intellectual property, company law, commercial law, real-estate law, international capital markets, investment funds, insolvency law, antitrust law, mergers and acquisitions, and tax law.

Looking for a specialist native-language translator to translate legal documents? Get in touch – by phone or email – our specialist translators will be happy to assist you.