A court judgment, a statement of claim, a ruling, an arbitral award and a writ of execution are documents where the accuracy of the translation has a direct legal consequence: a foreign court decides on recognition of a Georgian judgment on the basis of the translation, a Georgian court accepts foreign evidence only with a certified translation, and an arbitral tribunal assesses the parties' positions precisely through the translated documents. Here one wrongly chosen term changes the procedural status, the relief sought or the operative part of the judgment. Our bureau in Tbilisi translates court and arbitration documents with legally specialised translators, notarizes them and arranges the apostille procedure, for companies, law firms and lawyers.
The court documents we translate
- Court judgments, rulings and decisions. Acts of the first instance, appellate and supreme courts in civil, commercial, administrative and criminal cases.
- Claims, defences and appeals. The statement of claim, the defence, appeals and cassation appeals, motions.
- Arbitration documents. The arbitration agreement, the claim and defence in arbitration, the arbitral award, cases conducted under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, SCC and the Georgian International Arbitration Centre.
- Enforcement documents. The writ of execution, acts of the National Bureau of Enforcement, rulings on seizure.
- Procedural notices. Summonses, court notices, confirmation of service of documents under the Hague Convention.
- Evidence. Contracts, correspondence, expert opinions, accounting documents and minutes attached to the case.
When a court document needs a translation
When a Georgian judgment is enforced abroad (recovering a debt from a foreign counterparty, levying execution on property), the foreign court asks for the judgment with a note on its entry into force, an apostille and a certified translation. Recognition of a foreign judgment in Georgia is considered by the Supreme Court of Georgia, and recognition of a foreign arbitral award, in accordance with the 1958 New York Convention, by the Court of Appeal, and in both cases a Georgian notarized translation is mandatory. In international arbitration the tribunal sets the language of the proceedings, and all evidence in other languages is submitted with a certified translation into that language. A foreign court's summons or claim is served on a defendant in Georgia with a Georgian translation. And a bank, a consulate and an investor ask for court acts concerning a company in due diligence and visa procedures.
What matters when translating court documents
Procedural terminology
Georgian procedural law distinguishes three different acts, and the distinction must be preserved in the translation: a "judgment" decides the case on the merits, a "ruling" or "order" decides a procedural matter, and a "verdict" and "sentence" decide a criminal case. The "claimant" and the "defendant" in a civil case are claimant or plaintiff and defendant depending on the jurisdiction, and in arbitration claimant and respondent. "Entry into force", "writ of execution", "cassation appeal", "interim measure" and "retrial" are the concepts where the equivalent established in the target legal system is used, with a translator's explanation where needed.
The full, literal and unchanged text
A court document is never shortened, "polished" or corrected: the descriptive, reasoning and operative parts are rendered in full with the structure, paragraph numbering and quotations of the original. The name of the court, the case number, the judge's name, the date of the hearing, the parties' details, seals, stamps and the note on entry into force are carried over exactly or described in square brackets. If there is an obvious error in the original, it stays in the translation too with a translator's note, because a translator has no right to correct a document.
Names, amounts and deadlines
The parties' names and company names must be identical to the translation of the passport and the register extract, so that the foreign court identifies the debtor unambiguously. The amounts awarded, interest, penalties and court costs stay unchanged in figures, while the deadlines for appeal and enforcement are converted to the date format of the target country.
Notarization and apostille on court acts
A court judgment is a public document and needs an apostille for submission abroad. The scheme is this: a certified copy of the judgment with a note on its entry into force is requested from the court registry, the apostille is placed on it, then the judgment is translated together with the apostille and the translation is notarized. For a number of countries the notarized translation itself needs a second apostille, and for countries that are not party to the Hague Convention, consular legalization. An arbitral award is a private act and the apostille is placed on its notarized copy. A claim, a defence and evidence, as a rule, need only a notarized or bureau-certified translation, which we confirm with the lawyer handling the case.
Translating foreign court documents into Georgian
Acts of foreign courts and arbitration are translated into Georgian for recognition, enforcement, service on a defendant or submission as evidence in a Georgian court. We translate judgments of English, American, German, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian and other countries' courts, arbitral awards of the ICC, LCIA and other institutions, and procedural documents. Common law concepts (injunction, discovery, affidavit, default judgment), which have no direct analogue in Georgian law, are rendered with the established Georgian equivalent and a translator's explanation. A foreign act must receive the apostille in the issuing country itself.
Confidentiality and turnaround
Court and arbitration documents contain trade secrets and personal data. A confidentiality agreement is in place with every translator, at the request of the client or law firm we sign an NDA, files are stored on a secure server and deleted on your instruction after the case is over. A 5-10 page judgment is ready with notarization within 1-2 working days, a 20-50 page judgment or arbitral award within 3-5 days, and large evidence packages with several translators working in parallel, one glossary and one editor, taking the procedural deadline into account. To law firms and lawyers we offer monthly invoicing, a priority queue and a dedicated translator who knows the history and terminology of the case.
Frequently asked questions
Which court recognises a foreign judgment in Georgia?
Recognition of a foreign court judgment is considered by the Supreme Court of Georgia, and of a foreign arbitral award by the Court of Appeal. In both cases the document is submitted with an apostille and a Georgian notarized translation.
Is an apostille placed on a court judgment?
Yes, a judgment is a public document. The apostille is placed on a copy certified by the court with a note on entry into force, and the document is then translated together with the apostille.
Can only the operative part be translated?
Some authorities (a bank or a consulate, for example) accept that, while a court and arbitration, as a rule, ask for the full document. We confirm the requirement with the lawyer so that only the necessary pages are translated.
How are a "ruling" and a "judgment" translated?
Differently: a "judgment" decides the case on the merits, a "ruling" is a procedural act and is a ruling or order. Losing this distinction makes the status of the document unclear to a foreign court.
How long does a notarized translation of a court judgment take?
5-10 pages within 1-2 working days, 20-50 pages within 3-5 days. Under a procedural deadline several translators work in parallel and the deadline is agreed individually.