Cover not available
Article published In:
The Role of ISO/TC 37 Standards for Translators, Interpreters, Terminologists and Beyond
Edited by Hendrik J. Kockaert
[Digital Translation 10:2] 2023
► pp. 200–232

An in-context overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional requirements set in the ISO 20771:2020 Legal translation – Requirements standard

ORCID logo | University of Warsaw
This article provides an overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional requirements set in the ISO 20771:2020 standard. References to existing frameworks, such as European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and some research, complementary ISO standards (notably ISO 17100:2015) and current industry best-practice offer relevant context and background information, and identify the gap that has been filled by this important standard.
The author demonstrates that ISO 20771:2020 is a good example of a requirements standard developed for the translation industry that is up-to-date, reflects actual industry best-practice, and addresses a need for standardization of legal translator requirements for the purpose of certification. It is posited here that ISO 20771:2020 is a valuable resource for all stakeholders as it not only provides accurate information about standard market requirements for legal translation (and translation in general) but also contributes to translators’ professionalization by setting objective professional benchmarks. Additionally, ISO requirements standards are, by definition, pragmatic and operational, and therefore easier to validate through conformity assessment and certification than any other resources, and hence both the industry and academia can only benefit from increased ISO standards uptake.
The overview of legal translator competences, qualifications and other professional requirements set in the ISO 20771:2020 standard reflects the ISO approach to setting translator requirements, and outlines some of the practical implications of translation industry standardization and certification in the hope that it might become the starting point for more discussions on this subject in the future.
Keywords: legal translation, legal translator, translator competences and qualifications, ISO 20771, ISO 17100, EQF, translation best practice, requirements, CPD, ISO certification
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.ISO and translation standards – some background information
  • 3.ISO translation standards and the EQF
  • 4.Translator requirements – some relevant research, ISO 17100 and ISO 20771
  • 5.Legal translator competence – relevant research
  • 6.ISO 20771 overview
  • 7.Other relevant ISO 20771 requirements
  • 8.Conclusions
  • 9.Future perspectives
  • References
Published online: 15 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dt.00008.pop
References (49)
References
Cao, Deborah. 2007. Translating Law. Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cedefop. 2014. Terminology of European Education and Training Policy: a Selection of 130 Key Terms (2nd edition). Luxembourg: Publications Office. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
. 2008. Strengthening European Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training Policy. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
Delisle, Jean. 1992. “Les manuels de traduction: essai de classification.” TTR (traduction, terminologie, rédaction) 5 (1): 17–47. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
EMT Expert Group. 2009. Competences for Professional Translators, Experts in Multilingual and Multimedia Communication. Brussels: European Commission. Accessed December 1, 2022. [URL]
. 2022. Competence Framework 2022. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
ETF – European Training Foundation. 1997. Glossary of Labour Market Terms and Standard and Curriculum Development Terms. Turin: ETF.Google Scholar
Eurydice. 2006. “TESE – Thesaurus for Education Systems in Europe.” Eurydice. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
European Commission. 2018. “The European Qualifications Framework: Supporting Learning, Work and Cross-border Mobility.” European Commission. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
Gile, Daniel. 1995. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Göpferich, Susanne, and Riitta Jääskeläinen. 2009. “Process Research into the Development of Translation Competence: Where Are We, and Where Do We Need to Go?” Across Languages and Cultures 10 (2): 169–91. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Göpferich, Susanne. 2009. “Towards a Model of Translation Competence and Its Acquisition: The Longitudinal Study TransComp”. In Behind the Mind: Methods, Models and Results in Translation Process Research, edited by Susanne Göpferich, Arnt Lykke Jakobsen and Inger M. Mees, 11–37. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur.Google Scholar
Gouadec, Daniel. 2007. Translation as a Profession. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hertog, Erik. 2001. Aequitas: Access to Justice across Language and Culture in the EU. Antwerpen: Lessius Hogeschool.Google Scholar
Hurtado Albir, Amparo (ed.). 1999. Enseñar a traducir: metodología en la formación de traductores e intérpretes. Madrid: Edelsa.Google Scholar
. 2007. “Competence-based Curriculum Design for Training Translators”. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 1 (2): 163–195. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
ILO – International Labour Organization. 1998. ILO thesaurus: Labour, Employment and Training Terminology = thesaurus BIT: Terminologie du travail, de l’emploi et de la formation = tesauro oit; terminologia de trabajo, empleo y formacion. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
ISO. 2019. Translation and interpreting and related technology – Vocabulary. ISO 20539:2019. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.Google Scholar
. 2020. Legal translation – Requirements. ISO 20771:2020. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.Google Scholar
. 2015. Translation services – Requirements for translation services. ISO 17100:2015. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.Google Scholar
ISO Statutes. 2022. 20th edition. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]Google Scholar
Kiraly, Donald. 1995. Pathways to Translation. Pedagogy and Process. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press.Google Scholar
Manganaras, Ioannis. 1996. The Qualified Legal Translator is a Lawyer Trained in Translation. Lingua Legis 41: 62–71.Google Scholar
Neubert, Albrecht. 2000. “Competence in Language, in Languages, and in Translation”. In Developing Translation Competence, edited by Christina Schäffner and Beverly Adab, 3–18. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nord, Christiane. 1991. Text Analysis in Translation. Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam/Atlanta: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Obenaus, Gerhard. 1995. “The Legal Translator as Information Broker”. In Translation and the Law, edited by Marshall Morris, 247 – 261. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
OECD. 2007. Qualifications Systems: Bridges to Lifelong Learning [Systèmes de certification : des passerelles pour apprendre à tout âge]. Paris: OECD. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008. “Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 (2008/C 111/01) on EQF.” Official Journal of the European Union. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
Orlando, Daniele, and Federica Scarpa. 2014. “Training Legal Translators. A Survey of Current Practices.” In New Tasks For Legal Interpreters and Translators in the Enlarged Europe. Proceedings from the international conference, Kraków, 3–5 April 2014, edited by Danuta Kierzkowska, 209–218. Kraków: Polskie Towarzystwo Tłumaczy Przysięgłych i Specjalistycznych TEPIS.Google Scholar
Orlando, Daniele. 2016. The Trials of Legal Translation Competence: Triangulating Process and Product of Translators vs. Lawyers. PhD thesis. University of Trieste. Accessed May 14, 2023. [URL]
PACTE. 2003. “Building a Translation Competence Model”. In Triangulating Translation: Perspectives in Process-Oriented Research, edited by Fabio Alves, 43–66. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2005. “Investigating Translation Competence: Conceptual and Methodological Issues”. Meta. Journal des traducteurs/Translators’ Journal 50 (2): 609–19.Google Scholar
. 2007. “Zum Wesen der Übersetzungskompetenz – Grundlagen für die experimentelle Valiedierung eines Ük-Modells [Translation competence: main features of the experimental validation of translation competence]”. In Quo vadis Translatologie? Ein halbes Jahrhundert Universitäter Ausbildung von Dolmetschern und Übersetzern in Leipzig. Rückschau, Zwischenbilanz und Perspectiven aus der Aussensicht, edited by Gerd Wotjak, 327–342. Berlin: Frank & Timme.Google Scholar
. 2008. “First Results of a Translation Competence Experiment: ‘Knowledge of Translation’ and ‘Efficacy of the Translation Process”. In Translator and Interpreter Training. Issues, Methods and Debates, edited by John Kearns, 104–26. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
. 2011a. “Results of the Validation of the PACTE Translation Competence Model: Translation Problems and Translation Competence”. In Methods and Strategies of Process Research: Integrative Approaches in Translation Studies, edited by Cecilia Alvstad, Adelina Hild and Elisabet Tiselius, 317–43. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2011b. “Results of the Validation of the PACTE Translation Competence Model: Translation Project and Dynamic Translation Index”. In Cognitive Explorations of Translation edited by Sharon O’Brien, 30–56. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Piecychna, Beata. 2013. “Legal Translation Competence in the Light of Translational Hermeneutics”. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric 34 (1): 141–59. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Popiolek, Monika. 2023. Professionalization and Standardization of Translation Service Requirements and Translation Quality Assurance (TQA) Approaches: A Study of ISO Translation Industry Standards and their Impact on Industry TQA Models and Metrics. PhD Thesis (forthcoming). University of Warsaw.Google Scholar
. 2020. “ISO 20771:2020 Standard Legal Translator Competences – in the Context of the European Qualifications Framework, ISO 17100:2015 and Relevant Research.” Lingua Legis 28 (20): 7–40.Google Scholar
Prieto Ramos, Fernando. 2011. “Developing Legal Translation Competence: An Integrative Process-Oriented Approach”. Comparative Legilinguistics – International Journal for Legal Communication 51: 7–21.Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony. (2003). “Redefining Translation Competence in an Electronic Age. In Defence of a Minimalist Approach”. Meta. Journal des traducteurs/Translators’ Journal 48 (4): 481–497. Accessed May 1, 2023. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Šarčević, Susan. 1994. “Translation and the Law: An Interdisciplinary Approach”. In Translation Studies: An interdiscipline, edited by Mary Snell-Hornby, Franz Pöchhacker and Klaus Kaindl, 301–307. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1997. New Approach to Legal Translation. The Hague/Boston: Kluwer Law International.Google Scholar
Scarpa, Federica, Hendrik J. Kockaert, and Daniele Orlando. 2014. ECQA Legal Translator in Criminal Proceedings – Skills Card. Accessed December 12, 2021. [URL]
Sofer, Morry. 2006. The Translator’s Handbook. Schreiber Publishing Inc.: Maryland.Google Scholar
Toudic, Daniel, and Alexandra Krause, eds. 2017. Competence Framework 2017. EMT Expert Group 2017. Brussels: European Commission. Accessed May 1, 2023. [URL]
Trosborg, Anna. 1997. “Text Typology: Register, Genre and text Type”. In Text Typology and Translation, edited by Anna Trosborg, 3 – 23. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wilss, Wolfram. 1976. “Perspectives and Limitations of a Didactic Framework for the Teaching of Translation”. In Translation Applications and Research, edited by Richard Brislin, 117–137. New York: Gardner.Google Scholar
. 1996. Knowledge and Skills in Translator Behavior. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar