David Lin Mar 26, 2014:

Verified conclusion with proof has to be respected @jyuan: Thank you for your input. I guess the Asker Ken has already made the conclusion by verifying our suggestions based on the official government translation of the laws in China. See his link provided below. He did not make any wild guess as you thought. Rather, he substantiated his conclusion with the proof which we have to respect. And I do not say this because his conclusion supports my answer.

Moreover, no one here claims as supreme court staff as you thought. If you can come up with any suggestion backed up by trustworthy and authoritative sources, feel free to do so. We can then discuss more.

jyuan_us Mar 26, 2014:

I think complaint or grievance are good enough for 申诉. We are translators, not the supreme court staff. All we can do is to give a best equivalent we can come up with for a term that is not crystal clear. If you want to go any further, ask your client to give an official definition of the term in their context. They may force you to opt for a particular term that none of us have ever thought of. All the efforts here would lead to nowhere other than wild guesses.

David Lin Mar 25, 2014:

@Ken: I'm pleased my suggestion matches the official legal translation of the Chinese government. It's nice to know.

Your database link looks a useful tool. Your resourcefulness and thoughtfulness to help other translators is very much appreciated.

@Phil: Glad you agreed to my suggestion. Cross-national translation especially in law is always a challenge for any translators because legal systems vary from country to country. Though your suggestion is not the same, it was really close. Good try.

@Albert: The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be called (in most U.S. courts) a 'complaint' - Wikipedia on the word 'petition'. In Britain we call it a 'claim'. In Chinese we translate it as 申索。

Chinese government translated complaint as 控告. It might sound frightening but it relays the legal meaning anyway.

I am not sure we can apply the complaint of a child against the mother as 控告 because the context is different. It is an individual within a family, like general conversation that can't be compared. We could perhaps translate it as 埋怨 which is less frightening due to different context.

albertdeng Mar 25, 2014:

Exactly because the procedure does not exist in the West, the translation should be a bit self-explanatory.

控告 is too frightening a word for "complaint". If a child complains against their parents for being too strict, can you say the child 控告 their parents?

Phil Hand Mar 25, 2014:

Thanks If "petition" is a conventional usage, then I'd certainly be happy to agree with it. The difficulty here is that from what I understand (and I'm no lawyer), this category simply doesn't exist in UK/US law. If there was a fault with the original hearing, that's grounds for appeal (or possibly retrial?), but in the UK system, no-one has any authority to alter or revoke an existing judgment, so there is no one to 申诉 to.
Given that it's a fairly unique thing, a conventional translation is probably the best you can do.

Ken Ho (asker) Mar 25, 2014:

Thanks David, yes it is clear now. Here is a link to the NPC database of laws and regulations (English version) for those who are interested in the existing translations of Chinese laws and regulations: http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/12/content_1383... When comparing with the Chinese version, one may find that 「petition」is the equivalent of「申诉」, while 「complaint」the equivalent of「控告」.

David Lin Mar 25, 2014:

It's clear now. Glad you've found our discussion helpful.

Ken Ho (asker) Mar 25, 2014:

Hi guys, thank you very much for the discussion. It is very much appreciated, as I really would like to have a clear understanding of the English equivalents. The law related definition of "complaint" in American Heritage Dictionary online is "The presentation by the plaintiff in a civil action, setting forth the claim on which relief is sought."「民事起诉状」This is the reason I fear to use it alone under this context. While the definition for "petition" is "A formal written application requesting a court for a specific judicial action", in this case, it is closer to 「申诉」, and it can be a petition for any action, for example, a petition for appeal. Assuming a man has been sentenced to jail due to whatever reason (but based on a wrong basis), what will this man do to get himself out, lodge a petition or a procedural complaint?

David Lin Mar 25, 2014:

More about the Definition of 申诉 - 刑事申诉是指当事人及其法定代理人、近亲属对人民法院已经发生法律效力的刑事判决、裁定和人民检察院诉讼终结的刑事处理决定不服，向人民法院或人民检察院提出重新处理的要求。对人民法院已经发生法律效力的判决、裁定是申请再审，对人民检察院的处理决定是要求重新复查。

《人民检察院复查刑事申诉案件规定》第四条规定：“人民检察院管辖的刑事申诉是指对人民检察院诉讼终结的刑事处理决定以及对人民法院已经发生法律效力的刑事判决、裁定不服的申诉。”

它包含两方面的内容：一是管辖的范围包括不服人民法院刑事判决、裁定和不服人民检察院刑事处理决定两部分；二是对人民法院的判决、裁定只有已经发生法律效力的、对人民检察院的刑事处理决定只有诉讼终结的,才按照《人民检察院复查刑事申诉案件规定》管辖。

申诉权是我国宪法赋予公民的一项基本权利。它是指公民对于任何国家机关和国家机关工作人员的违法失职致使侵害其合法权益的公务处理行为，有向国家机关提出申诉、请求重新处理的权利。刑事申诉则是这种申诉权在刑事诉讼中的具体体现。

@Phil: According to the Chinese law stated above, 申诉 is more than about procedure but result of a judgement.

Hope this helps.

David Lin Mar 25, 2014:

Law not politics Hi Albert, I know where you come from but the context here is about law not politics in China.

albertdeng Mar 25, 2014:

Note that the term "petition" has a quite broad range of meanings. You may petition for any cause or against any type of grievance. 申诉, on the other hand, is a formal term and is unique to China. Furthermore, if you make a 申诉, you are still doing something legitimate under the Chinese political system. However, the word "petition" is often used to translate another Chinese term -上访, which in theory is not illegal but in practice is sometimes suppressed. When you see an English report about "petitioners" on Tiananmen Square, what do you conjure up in your mind? Will you associate "petitioners" with the people who make a 申诉？ Does anyone make a 申诉 on Tiananmen Square?

David Lin Mar 25, 2014:

Not about procedure @Phil: The explanation in your link is as follow:
”申訴“ 指公民或法人认为对其某一问题的处理结果不正确，而向国家有关机关申述理由...

It's about incorrect 处理结果 in the course of hearing a case that might lead to a wrong judgement, but “complaint” strictly speaking does not mean that. See below.

Not to mention the answer you supported is not accurate enough because 'action' does not convey the entire meaning of 起诉 in my humble opinion.

Definition of Complaint:
In civil practice. In those states having a Code of Civil Procedure, the complaint is the first or initiatory pleading on the part of the plaintiff in a civil action. It corresponds to the declaration in the common-law practice.

'Petition' conveys the full meaning for 申诉, because it means as a legal term:

"A written address, embodying an application or prayer from the person or persons preferring it, to the power, body, or person to whom it is presented, for the exercise of his or their authority in the redress of some wrong, or the grant of some favor, privilege, or license. In practice. An application made to a court ex parte, or where there are no parties. - Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed.