- About Us
- Legal Services
- Family Law
- Property
- Marriage
- Immigration
- Contact
- Payments
The translation of legal documents in Thailand can be difficult. There are a number of reasons for this. The first is politeness in the language which can introduce ambiguity. There are also words that have more than one meaning. The reader will need to understand the context in which the word is being used. We will show some examples of these as in the West we tend to use specific words in the legal terminology. See also our article on birth certificate translation in Thailand.
Lets look at the first examples of a word with more than one meaning. We can use the word “รับ” (rap). This word can have more than one meaning. It could mean “to accept” which is easy to understand. Likewise it could however also mean “to receive”. This becomes more difficulty as it can also mean “to acknowledge”. The word can be used depending on the context in which it has been used.
The examples show the difference is usage and the context of the sentence.
“เขารับข้อเสนอของบริษัท” (Khao rap kho sanoe khong borisat)
This will translate into: “He accepted the company’s offer.”
“ฉันได้รับพัสดุเมื่อเช้านี้” (Chan dai rap patsadu muea chao nii)
Likewise this will translate into: “I received the package this morning.”
“ผู้จัดการรับทราบปัญหาแล้ว” (Phu jatgaan rap sab panha laeo)
This will translate into: “The manager has acknowledged the issue.”
What see see if used incorrectly we have an issue with the first Accept as accepting an agreement. The Receive could be receiving a document as well as Acknowledge as in accepting liability. As you will see the the context of the sentence tells you how to use the word in context. In the West there is less ambiguity mainly because the legal language has a strong tradition of separating actions with separate words. The Thai language as you will note is more complex.
There are also many specialized words. This we have explained below with examples. These tend to be Latin phrases that does not translate directly into Thai. The words will need an explanation to explain the concept of the terms. We will look at a few of these terms and see the importance of legal translations in Thailand. Most translations occur in Bangkok as it is the administrative Capital of Thailand. Most of the head offices of government departments are in Bangkok.
There are a number of specialized terms in law in the West. In Thailand when doing a translation, the concept normally needs to be explained in words. This as the word and the legal concept may not known within their legal system. We look at a few of these words.
Firstly, estoppel is a legal principle which is used in the Western legal systems. This prevents a person or party from contradicting something they previously established as fact. This could be by their own words, actions, or legal standing. The word does not have an equivalent in Thai.
Secondly since there is not direct equivalent word as it comes from the common law system in the West. This word would need to be explained in Thai with the sentence explain the context. The description in Thai would explain the principle that prevents a party from contradicting their previous actions or statements.
Thirdly it will need to be context dependent. So estoppel will read in Thai as
“หลักการปิดปากไม่ให้เถียงขัดแย้งกับสิ่งที่ทำหรือพูดไว้ก่อนหน้า” which is phonetically read as
(Lakkan pitpak mai hai thiang khatyang kap sing thi tham rue phut wai kon na)
This would roughly mean the following:
“a principle that prevents someone from contradicting what they have said or done earlier.”
The it takes a sentence to describe a singular legal concept since there is no direct translation. You can have a transliteration of the word but the concept will not be understood. This becomes even more difficult when the specialized word has a sub=set of words. As an example there is also promissory estoppel as well as equitable estoppel. Further in Thai you can explain it as similar concepts like good faith (สุจริตใจ, sujaritjai). It however does not explain the concept of estoppel.
Firstly much like estoppel there is no direct translation for Quid Pro Quo. Likewise you will note that this is a Latin term meaning “something for something”. This referring to an exchange where one thing is given in return for another. Since there is no direct translation for the word in a legal sense there is also a difference in culture. So to convey the concept it comes with an explanation.
The explanation could be
การแลกเปลี่ยนที่มีเงื่อนไข (kan laek plian thi mi ngao khai)
The rough translation would be.
“a conditional exchange” or “บางสิ่งแลกกับบางสิ่ง” (bang sing laek kap bang sing) which translates to “something exchanged for something.”
The possible conflict is that it does not always convey the transactional nature of the legal term of quid pro quo that already exists in English. So lets use this in a sentence. We will note that as follows:
“They engaged in a quid pro quo agreement”
So in Thai when translated it might read as
“พวกเขาทำข้อตกลงแลกเปลี่ยนผลประโยชน์”
This is transliterated as
(phuak khao tham khaotoklong laek plian phonprayot)
This would mean “They made an agreement to exchange benefits.” so we can see that it does not express the transactional exchange of the conversation. Yes, we can understand that there was an exchange. However we did not explain the transactional nuance of quid pro quo. So translating a business contract the translator has to include that it is an exchange of favors, services, or benefits with the expectation of reciprocation.
We have written before on torts in Thailand.You can see our article on this website. The basic overview of a tort refers to a civil wrong. This which causes harm or loss to another person, for which the injured party can claim compensation. There is a case on this website where we explained by example of a man allowing his ducks on his neighbors pond causing damage and losses. Likewise the man who allowed his cattle to graze on his neighbors land.
There is no direct translation for torts in Thailand. You can transliterate the word but it does not convey the precise concept of it in Thai. Much like estoppel there are also different types of torts. In the West we have torts but we also have subsets such as toxic torts mainly used in the mining industry. The Thai word that may be used is ละเมิด (lamoet), which refers to wrongdoing. This again does not convey the tort very well. The word violate is normally covered as negligence, defamation, or nuisance.
Likewise in Thai. We note that Thai law is based on civil codes. Compared to the West we see that tort law comes from common law traditions. So how to convey this in a contract or legal charge?
Generally we can follow a simple example.
“He filed a lawsuit for torts committed by his neighbor”
We could view this in Thai as being translated as
“เขายื่นฟ้องร้องเนื่องจากการละเมิดจากเพื่อนบ้าน” (khao yuen fongrong nueangjak kan lamoet jak phuean ban)
This sentence would translate into
“He filed a lawsuit for wrongdoing by his neighbor.”
The approach in this case is different. The tort will need to be explained in the Thai language. In the West torts have different categories, likewise in Thailand it would have a different descriptions. As a short examples which follows:
ความประมาทเลินเล่อ (khwam pramat loen loe, negligence) –
Failure to exercise reasonable care
การหมิ่นประมาท (kan min pramat, defamation) –
Libel: Defamation in written or published form.
Slander: Defamation in spoken form.
If you need to have your legal translations done then speak to our translators in Bangkok for assistance. Translating documents, especially legal documents can become difficult. If you need assistance with torts in Thailand we can also give you more insight in filling your tort in the country.
We have explained multi-use words as well as specialized words. Lastly we will explain indirect phrasing in legal document translations. Again we to us if you need your legal documents localized. We have had many years of experience with this. We will cover a few of these to show an example.
When you are drafting a contract there may be issues with the use of words.The word means the following as it translates as “shall have to” or “must”. So lets put this into a contract as follows:
• “คู่สัญญาจะต้องดำเนินการให้เสร็จภายใน 30 วัน”
• (Khu sanya ja tong damnoen kan hai set phai nai 30 wan)
• “The contracting party shall have to complete the work within 30 days.”
Depending on the context, some ambiguity because it may suggest the possibility of flexibility with the way that it has been written. We can split the word as follows:
• “จะต้อง” (ja tong): Implies obligation however it has a softer or more polite tone.
• “ต้อง” (tong): This has a much stronger, more direct expression of obligation.
• “จะ” (ja) This is used to indicate an action that will take place
So from the above we can see that it would be clearer to use “ต้อง” (must) or tong, which removes any ambiguity regarding the obligation.
Much like the word used above called tong. We have another example that will introduce ambiguity. So we can see that in Thai, “อาจจะ” (at ca) means “may” or “might”, expressing possibility or potential rather than certainty. So lets break it down as it becomes important in contracts.
• “บริษัทอาจจะเพิ่มโบนัสในปีนี้”
• Borisat at ca pheum bonat nai pii nii
• Literal translation: “The company may increase the bonus this year.”
So to make the point, “อาจจะ” in contracts allows flexibility but could lead to disputes. Now compare this with the following use of the words.
“บริษัทจะเพิ่มโบนัสในปีนี้” (Borisat ja pheum bonat nai pii nii) – “The company will increase the bonus this year,” which would indicate certainty.
“บริษัทต้องเพิ่มโบนัสในปีนี้” (Borisat tong pheum bonat nai pii nii) – “The company must increase the bonus this year,” which indicates a requirement.
The key issues had been the ambiguity in terms. The judgment by the court ruled that the Thai version of the contract was more authoritative. This based on the contract’s governing language being Thai. What did we learn. Proper professional translation. Secondly you need to state which language will be the the authoritive language in the contract. Lastly that care should be taken when translating a contract into another language.
The courts in Thailand tend to default to the Thai version when there are issues. This again highlights the importance of drafting your contracts or agreement correctly. Likewise this with the correct English translation. Speak to us about Thai to English translation as well as MFA legalisation.
If you are getting divorced in Thailand, then speak to our divorce lawyers in Thailand. There is an article that we wrote called getting divorced in Thailand. That article is a basic overview of the issues. There is also a small article on expat divorce in Pattaya if that is of interest as to the most common grounds for divorce. Likewise the article on divorce litigation.
