Legal Translation Services for International Tribunals
We’ve blogged about multilingual legal translation services of foreign-language evidence in the context of in the context of international litigation. 28 USC § 1782 – Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals- authorizes federal courts to order discovery in aid of proceedings before foreign courts and international tribunals.
However, the question of what constitutes an international tribunal is anything but straightforward.
The key case on this topic, Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., did little to add any clarity. In this case, the Supreme Court appears to support a broad interpretation that would encompass arbitral tribunals, which act as ‘first-instance decision-makers’ that render ‘dispositive rulings’ subject to limited national court review.
However, federal courts have struggled to apply this standard to the context of international arbitration. A majority have concluded that arbitral tribunals established by private contract are ‘foreign or international tribunals’. This is an essential finding as it determines not only jurisdiction and applicable laws but, perhaps more importantly, possible outcomes – all of which have ramifications that should be addressed prior to entering into a private contract.
When the contract is between foreign entities, then the intent of the parties must first be determined via a foreign language translation. Contact our legal translation company to obtain certified translations of arbitration and tribunal documents.
Up Next: International Legal Translation Services, Expatriation and Tax Law