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You said: "Acte de défense" isn't a court filing? "Acte de naissance" is a lawyer-signed instrument?
I'm not sure where you're coming up with these misunderstandings. No, an acte de naissance isn't an acte d'avocat, and therefore it's not a lawyer-signed instrument.
As for "acte de défense," to me that means a physical or military act of self-defense, and every FR-language website that comes up in my google search confirms that. So no, to the best of my knowledge it's not a court filing, and in any case it's not relevant to this translation.
I don't agree that this requires an explanatory translation. The FR is a term of art that only lawyers would understand (or rather, lawyers and people who have been involved in getting or needing an acte d'avocat), so translating it with a term that means but does not explain "acte d'avocat" makes sense to me. The person reading it will get the general gist -- it's a formal legal document signed by a lawyer -- and if they want to know anything more specific about it (what formalities are required, what legal effect it has, etc.), they'll need to ask a lawyer, just as a Francophone reader would.
"Acte de défense" isn't a court filing? "Acte de naissance" is a lawyer-signed instrument? But whatever, please read my earlier comment. My suggestion is an EXPLANATORY translation (intention being to keep the Fr term), not an attempt to embody the whole meaning of the Fr term (which would need a whole sentence amd maybe even two!!)
With your legal background, you know what "legal instrument" means. It's not just some random "legal document" (that could be nearly anything: birth certificate, court filing, contract, etc.). A legal instrument is a specific type of legal document: one that, by its very existence, creates binding obligations or grants rights.
And "un acte" in FR isn't just "un document" or n'importe quel document juridique. It's a specific category of legal document: not a court filing; not a legal record (e.g. birth certificate, marriage certificate)... It quite specifically creates binding obligations or grants rights. A deed, for instance, is not just a "document juridique"; it's "un acte," because it vests someone with rights in real property. A private contract/acte sous seing privé creates legal rights and/or obligations as between the parties.
The examples you gave all do that: reconnaissance de dette, contrat de travail, statuts, cession de fonds, prêt, transactions en toute matière...
Since we're translating "un acte," not "un document," we need an equally specific word in EN. "Documentation" doesn't mean documents that create rights or obligations. "Legal instrument" does.
Please see following list of fields in which this e-acte system can be used: – droit civil : reconnaissance de dette, cautionnement, contrat de bail, pacte de famille, prêt ; – droit social : contrats de travail, protocole, rupture conventionnelle ; – droit commercial : statuts, cessions de fonds, contrats commerciaux, fusion/scission ; – les transactions en toute matière.
So surely "legal documentation" is not a misdescription here?
I just wanted to clarify that my suggestion is not a translation of the term but an explanation intended to be added in brackets, as I believe the French term should be kept. This is because imo there is no direct equivalent, or maybe even no near equivalent. It seems the French system isn't about the mere filing of documents but their entire preparation and signing. Given that my suggestion is for an explanation ONLY, translating "actes" by the generic "legal documentation" is hardly "wrong".
According to the document linked by Jane in the original post, Issu de la loi du 28 mars 2011, l’Acte d’Avocat est un acte sous seing privé signé par chacune des parties et leurs avocats respectifs.
If we translate acte d'avocat simply as "legal instrument", don't we overlook the specificity of it - an instrument countersigned by the lawyers?
By suggesting 'lawyer's instrument', I was proposed something that would deliberately set the reader scratching their head to wonder what the thing was.
The alternative to this is either to (a) lose it in translation, or (b) not translate it at all. I'm open to (b) but I wouldn't opt for (a) unless it really wasn't important.
is what they mean by acte d'avocat in the first place. There is a type of instrument acte d'avocat à avocat, "document notified by one barrister to another through a court bailiff" (Bridge). I presume they just mean any legal instrument produced by a counsel.
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electronic lawyer's instrument
Explanation: Just to get the ball rolling.
Lawyer's instrument is a literal translation of "acte d'avocat" ("Deed" is too narrrow for "acte").
Given the lack of an anglophone equivalent, I struggle to come up with something pithier that immediately conveys the precise meaning of an "instrument countersigned by the parties' lawyers".
Steve Robbie United Kingdom Local time: 18:36 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8