Do translation documents submitted to the court require the qualification of a translation company?

Court is a state organ commonly established in countries around the world. It mainly punishes criminals, resolves social conflicts and disputes, and maintains fairness and justice through trial activities. The People's Court is the national judicial organ of the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China has established specialized people's courts such as the Supreme People's Court, local people's courts at all levels, and military courts. The hearing of cases shall be conducted in public, except for special circumstances stipulated by law. The defendant is entitled to an opportunity to defend himself. The people's courts independently exercise judicial power on behalf of the state in accordance with legal provisions and will not be subject to interference from any administrative agencies, social groups, individuals or others.

With the continuous integration of the global economy and the continuous improvement of the domestic business environment, more and more foreign-funded enterprises and foreign personnel choose to come to China to invest or set up companies. However, foreign-funded enterprises have difficulties in production and operation. Disputes with domestic individuals or enterprises will inevitably arise during activities. In judicial interpretations, such cases are collectively referred to as foreign-related cases. Data show that from 1978 to 2000, courts across the country accepted 63,894 first-instance foreign-related commercial and maritime cases. The number of cases rose rapidly to 220,080 in the 10 years after the turn of the millennium. Foreign-related commercial cases have experienced explosive growth and are showing a continued growth trend.

Shanghai is a bridgehead city for domestic opening up to the outside world. According to data released by the Shanghai High Court in 2017, between 2012 and 2016, there were a total of 3,138 cases involving foreign parties, involving More than 60 countries and regions including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Pakistan, Israel, and the British Virgin Islands. In foreign-related civil litigation, according to legal provisions or agreements between the parties, there may be situations where foreign law should be applied to adjudicate the case. In such cases, whether foreign laws can be accurately ascertained and applied correctly will have a significant impact on the fair resolution of foreign-related disputes in accordance with the law and the effective protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the parties.

The Foreign Investment Law, which was officially implemented on January 1 this year, clarifies the rules for protecting the rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises, improves the complaint mechanism for foreign-invested enterprises, strengthens the protection of intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights, and strengthens law enforcement. It has played a positive role in ensuring the freedom of exchange for foreign-funded enterprises, providing a more effective guarantee for the protection of the rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises.

The editor takes the Shanghai District Court as an example that requires the submission of personal identity documents in foreign-related judicial cases. The Shanghai Court requires that the overseas passport submitted must be accompanied by a Chinese translation issued by a qualified translation company.

What are the characteristics of foreign-related material translation agencies required by the Shanghai Court?

1. The translation document submitted must be issued by a formal translation agency established in accordance with the law and approved by the state industrial and commercial administration authority. The business scope of a formal translation company's industrial and commercial business license includes the category of "translation services", the company name includes the words "translation services", and the English name includes "TRANSLATION".

2. After the translation is completed by a regular translation company, the translation company will stamp the translation company’s Chinese and English seals, the 13-digit code translation special seal and the foreign-related special seal registered by the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and stamp the seal. The document represents the translation company's confirmation that the content of the translation is consistent with the original content. It is recognized by domestic and foreign government law enforcement agencies and has a certain degree of authority.

3. When formal translation companies process documents submitted to the court, in order to ensure the accuracy and rigor of content expression, they generally select expert translators to translate the manuscript to ensure that the translation content is absolutely consistent with the original document. There will be no mistranslation or omission of translation.

4. After the translation is completed, a regular translation company will send the paper version of the document to the address specified by the user, along with a copy of the industrial and commercial business license, so that the judicial authorities can review the translation qualifications.