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Translation of the Common Law into foreign languages is a very specialized skill

Mar 17, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
It was reported that some Ministers and Ministries are giving translations of segments of the Laws of Guyana to foreign nationals who have set up shops and restaurants in Guyana.
May I point out to the Ministers and Ministries so involved that translation of the Common Law into foreign languages is a very specialized skill and there are very few such expert translators in the world. It is quite obvious that such attempted translations are amateurish and the Ministers have no way of fully ascertaining their accuracy.
Since Ministers and Ministries are handing out such translations, sometimes in person, they are putting the State’s and the Government’s imprimatur on them and if such translated Laws are referred to the Courts and they don’t fully tally with the English version, the Courts and indeed the Ministers would bring down upon themselves much embarrassment.
In the USA where there are tens of millions of Germans, Poles, Chinese and other non-English speakers, such persons have to make their own efforts to understand the Law of the Land and the US Federal Government will not get involved in the costs and complications of translations.
If the Ministers and Ministries wish to translate our Laws into foreign languages, they would have to employ expensive expert translators and take measures to guarantee the authenticity of the translations.
R. Edmonds

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