The increasing mobility of individuals and the internationalisation of legal relationships have made it increasingly common to use documents issued abroad in Italy or, conversely, to submit Italian deeds and documents before foreign authorities.

Powers of attorney, certificates, notarial deeds, court decisions, corporate documentation, academic qualifications and contracts are just some examples of documents that may require translation in order to produce legal effects in a jurisdiction other than that in which they originated.

In such cases, however, translation is only one of the aspects that must be considered. The preliminary issue is to determine which formalities are actually required for the document to be accepted and used before the receiving authority.

Legal translation is not merely a linguistic conversion

Translating a legal document requires a different approach from translating an ordinary text. The issue is not merely linguistic, but also legal.

Terms used within a particular legal system may refer to legal concepts or institutions that have no exact equivalent in another jurisdiction. Seeking a purely literal equivalent may therefore lead to a translation that is linguistically correct but inaccurate in terms of the original legal meaning.

The translation should therefore preserve, as far as possible, the function and scope of the original document, without attributing to it legal categories that belong exclusively to the legal system of the destination country.

This requirement is particularly evident in the translation of court filings, contracts, powers of attorney, judicial decisions and corporate documents, where even an apparently minor terminological choice may affect the understanding of the document's content.

When a sworn translation is required

In everyday language, expressions such as “sworn translation” or “certified translation” are frequently used. In the Italian system, asseverazione essentially consists of formalising a translation through an oath taken by the translator in accordance with the procedure established by the competent office.

The translator declares that they have faithfully performed their assignment and assumes responsibility for the translation produced. The source-language document, the translation and the relevant sworn statement are prepared in accordance with the formalities required for the procedure.

This does not mean, however, that every document intended for official use must necessarily undergo a sworn translation procedure.

The first step should always be to verify the requirements of the receiving authority. Whether a sworn translation is necessary depends on the nature of the document, its intended use and the rules governing the proceedings in which it will be submitted.

Automatically proceeding with a sworn translation without first verifying these elements may result in an unnecessary formality or, in some cases, in a procedure that is insufficient to satisfy the actual requirements.

The relationship between sworn translation, legalisation and apostille

Particular attention should be paid to the distinction between sworn translation, legalisation and apostille, which are frequently confused in practice.

A sworn translation concerns the translation itself and the declaration made by the translator. Legalisation serves a different purpose, relating to the authenticity of the signature appearing on a public document and the capacity in which the signatory acted.

An apostille is the simplified certification mechanism introduced by the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 for public documents intended to circulate between States in which the Convention applies.

The existence of a sworn translation does not, therefore, automatically make a document valid for use in every foreign country. Likewise, placing an apostille on the original document does not necessarily resolve the issue of the translation required by the receiving authority.

These are separate steps, whose necessity and sequence must be determined according to the circumstances of each individual case.

The order of formalities may be decisive

One of the most frequently underestimated aspects concerns the sequence in which the various formalities should be completed.

When a document is to be used abroad, it is not always appropriate to proceed immediately with its translation and sworn certification. Depending on the country of destination, the nature of the document and the authority that will receive it, certain formalities may first need to be completed on the original document, with translation taking place only afterwards.

The same issue arises in reverse when a foreign document must be submitted in Italy. In such cases, it is necessary to verify the rules applicable to the document in its country of origin, whether an apostille or legalisation is required, and how the translation must be prepared for use before the Italian authority.

An incorrect sequence may make it necessary to repeat the entire procedure, resulting in additional costs and delays before a usable document can be obtained.

Foreign documents to be used in Italy

When a document originates abroad, the first question should not simply be how it should be translated, but under what conditions it can be recognised and used in Italy.

The answer depends on the country of origin, the type of document, any applicable international conventions and the specific Italian authority before which the document is to be submitted.

In some cases, simplified procedures or exemptions from normally applicable formalities may be available. In others, the document may need to be apostilled or legalised before a translation complying with the requirements of the receiving authority is prepared.

It is therefore inadvisable to apply the same procedure indiscriminately to documents originating from different countries.

Italian documents intended for use abroad

Similar considerations apply to Italian documents intended to be used before foreign authorities.

Before arranging a translation, it is advisable to verify directly the requirements imposed by the destination country and authority. A sworn translation carried out in accordance with Italian procedures may be appropriate in some cases, while in others different or additional formalities may be required.

This verification is particularly important for documents intended for judicial or administrative proceedings, corporate transactions, inheritance matters, recognition of academic qualifications, citizenship procedures and other matters in which failure to comply with documentary formalities may result in requests for additional documentation or rejection of the document submitted.

The importance of identifying the receiving authority in advance

There is no universally valid procedure for a “legal translation”.

Two identical documents may require different formalities depending on the authority before which they are to be submitted. Even within the same country, the required procedures may vary depending on the type of proceeding and the nature of the receiving authority.

For this reason, before proceeding, it is advisable to identify precisely the document concerned, its country of origin, the destination country, the authority that will receive it and the purpose for which it will be submitted.

Only on the basis of this information is it possible to determine correctly whether a simple or sworn translation is required and whether any additional formalities must be completed.

Translation and professional responsibility

Accuracy in legal translation is particularly important. An imprecise formulation may alter the perceived meaning of a contractual clause, the scope of a power of attorney or the operative part of a court decision.

A professional translating legal documentation must therefore pay attention not only to linguistic accuracy, but also to technical terminology, the structure of the document and the legal system in which it was originally produced.

Where no perfect terminological equivalent exists, the translation choice should prioritise fidelity to the original legal meaning and avoid assimilations that could be misleading.

An activity that requires preliminary assessment

Proper management of a document intended to circulate between different legal systems should begin before the translation itself.

It is first necessary to reconstruct the route the document must follow: the legal system from which it originates, the authority before which it will be submitted, the function it is intended to perform and the formalities required for that specific purpose.

Only after this assessment is it possible to identify the most appropriate procedure and determine the correct sequence of any required formalities.

Professional assistance in the field of legal translations and sworn translations therefore goes beyond the purely linguistic translation of a document. It also includes correctly identifying the documentary requirements associated with its intended use, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary procedures, delays and the need to repeat formalities that have already been completed.

When dealing with documents intended for use abroad or originating from other legal systems, the question should not simply be “how should this document be translated?”, but above all “where, before which authority, and for what purpose will it be used?”

The proper management of the translation and any subsequent formalities should begin with the answers to these questions.