Certified legal translation
Translations signed and sealed with a statement of accuracy, formatted to mirror the source so the court can read them side by side.
TypicalJudgments · pleadings · affidavits · statutes · powers of attorney
Courts · Arbitration · Mediation · Kigali
Aecquitas Veritas
IEquity.Every party heard in the language they think in.
IITruth.Every word rendered as it was said. Nothing added, nothing left out.
IIIAdmissible.Every certificate prepared to be accepted the first time it is filed.
Certified translation · Sworn court interpreting
Every word,admissible.
Legal translation and interpreting for judges, arbitrators, mediators, counsel, and the people who stand before them. Two linguists on every certified document. One standard: the record must be true.
Sworn linguistsTranslators and interpreters who take an oath before they take the file.
Four-eyes revisionA second, independent linguist checks every certified page.
Confidential by defaultEncrypted intake, signed declarations, retention on your instruction.
Deadline-drivenUrgent filings and same-week hearings, scheduled against the court calendar.
Case Nº AV-2026-0917Exhibit A
Interpreter’s Oath
I will interpret accurately, completely and impartially, adding nothing and omitting nothing.
J’interpréterai fidèlement, intégralement et en toute impartialité, sans rien ajouter ni rien omettre.
Nzasemura mu kuri, byuzuye kandi ntabogamye, ntagira icyo nongeraho cyangwa ngo nkuremo.
Nitatafsiri kwa usahihi, kikamilifu na bila upendeleo, bila kuongeza wala kupunguza chochote.
أُقسم أن أترجم بدقة وأمانة وحياد تام، دون أن أضيف شيئًا أو أحذف شيئًا.
Interpretaré con exactitud, integridad e imparcialidad, sin añadir ni omitir nada.
Interpretarei com exatidão, integridade e imparcialidade, sem nada acrescentar nem omitir.
Ich werde getreu, vollständig und unparteiisch dolmetschen, ohne etwas hinzuzufügen oder wegzulassen.
我将准确、完整、公正地进行传译，不增一字，不减一字。
English1 / 9
A. V.Sworn interpreter
Before the Registrar
Sworn linguistsTranslators and interpreters under oath to the court
ISO 17100 workflowTranslation, independent revision, documented release
Four-eyes revisionA second linguist checks every certified page
Encrypted handlingSecure intake, signed NDAs, logged access
Data protectionPersonal data handled under Law Nº 058/2021
Schedule of services
Everything a matter needs, from filing to final judgment.
We work only in law. That narrow focus is why our terminology holds up under cross-examination and our certificates are accepted the first time.
Court & hearing interpreting
Sworn interpreters for trials, bail hearings, appeals and tribunals, working consecutively, simultaneously or whispered at counsel’s table.
TypicalCriminal trials · civil hearings · arbitration · labour tribunals
Depositions & witness interviews
Interpreters who understand leading questions, objections and the weight of an exact answer, briefed before the session and bound by confidentiality.
TypicalDepositions · police interviews · client consultations · asylum interviews
Audio evidence transcription
Verbatim transcripts of recorded calls, interviews and hearings, then translated, with speakers, pauses and inaudible passages marked as they occur.
TypicalIntercepts · body-camera audio · recorded hearings · voice notes
Contracts & corporate
Bilingual agreements, company records and regulatory filings, with a controlled glossary so defined terms stay defined across every document.
TypicalContracts · articles of association · tenders · compliance filings
Civil & immigration documents
Birth, marriage and academic records, criminal-record certificates and identity documents, prepared to the receiving authority’s exact requirements.
TypicalCivil status records · diplomas · police clearances · visa files
Legalisation & apostille support
We coordinate notarisation, apostille and embassy legalisation so a translated document is valid where it is going, not only where it was made.
TypicalNotarial certification · apostille · consular legalisation
Multilingual document review
Linguist reviewers for disclosure and investigations, flagging privileged, relevant and hot documents in the original language before anything is translated.
TypicalDisclosure · internal investigations · regulatory inquiries
§ 9 to 11 · Dispute resolution
When the parties to a dispute do not share a language, every stage of it needs a linguist the tribunal can rely on.
Mediation
Interpreters who keep the tone of a mediation intact in joint sessions and private caucus, and translated settlement agreements so both parties sign exactly the same terms.
TypicalCommercial mediation · family mediation · labour conciliation · Abunzi committees
Arbitration
Memorials, witness statements and exhibits translated to the tribunal’s procedural timetable, and simultaneous interpreters for hearings under institutional or ad hoc rules.
TypicalStatements of claim · witness statements · hearing interpreting · awards
Litigation support
Working alongside counsel from first pleading to appeal: translated evidence bundles, certified exhibits, interpreters for witnesses, and review of the other side’s translations.
TypicalEvidence bundles · challenged translations · linguistic expert reports · appeals
In a courtroom, a mistranslated word is not a typo. It becomes evidence.
The principle behind every file we certify
In the courtroom
The right mode of interpreting for the proceeding in front of you.
Each mode trades speed against verifiability. We help you choose the one the bench will accept, and staff it properly.
Best for
How we staff it
Specimen
A certified translation reads line for line with its source.
Hover any passage to see its counterpart. Where a legal concept has no exact equivalent, we keep the original term and explain it in a translator’s note rather than guess.
Cour d’appel, chambre commerciale
Arrêt nº 2026/0417 du 14 septembre 2026
Entre : la société Lumière SARL, appelante, représentée par Maître redacted ;
Et : la société Horizon SA, intimée ;
Attendu que l’appelante ne rapporte pas la preuve de l’inexécution alléguée ;
Par ces motifs, la Cour, statuant publiquement, contradictoirement et en dernier ressort,
Confirme le jugement entrepris en toutes ses dispositions ;
Condamne l’appelante aux dépens.
Page 1 / 1Court of Appeal, Commercial Chamber
Judgment No. 2026/0417 of 14 September 2026
Between: Lumière SARL, appellant, represented by Counsel redacted;
And: Horizon SA, respondent;
Whereas the appellant has not proved the alleged non performance;
For these reasons, the Court, ruling in open court, contradictoirement*, and as the court of last resort,
Upholds the judgment under appeal in all its provisions;
Orders the appellant to pay the costs.
* Translator’s note: contradictoirement denotes a judgment rendered after both parties were heard or duly summoned to appear.
I, the undersigned sworn translator, certify that the foregoing is a true and faithful translation of the attached document drafted in the French language.
Ref. AV-2026-0417-FR/EN · Revised by a second linguist
Every clause has its counterpart. The seal is the last step, never the first.
Specimen for illustration only. Parties and case reference are fictitious.
False friends
Words that look the same and lose cases.
French and English share thousands of legal words. Some mean something else entirely. A dictionary will not warn you. A legal translator will.
jurisprudence
Not “jurisprudence”, the theory of law
Case law
« une jurisprudence constante »
settled case law
délai
Not “delay”
A time limit or deadline
« dans un délai de quinze jours »
within fifteen days
procès
Not “process”
A trial or lawsuit
« le procès s’ouvre lundi »
the trial opens on Monday
magistrat
Not only “magistrate”
Any judge or prosecutor of the judiciary
« magistrat du siège »
a sitting judge
parquet
Not a wooden floor
The public prosecution service
« le parquet a interjeté appel »
the prosecution has appealed
instruction
Not “instructions”
The judicial investigation of a case
« le juge d’instruction »
the investigating judge
prévenu
Not “prevented”
The defendant in a criminal case
« le prévenu a comparu »
the defendant appeared in court
demande
Not “demand”
A claim or application
« la demande est rejetée »
the claim is dismissed
Chain of custody
Your documents never leave the record.
Evidence handling is part of translation. Every matter carries a log of who touched the file, when, and what they signed, so you can answer any question about how a translation was made.
- 1
Intake & conflict check
Files arrive over an encrypted channel. Both parties are checked against our conflict register before anyone reads a page.
Matter opened · conflict cleared - 2
Linguist assigned
A translator qualified in the language pair and the area of law takes the file and signs a confidentiality declaration for this matter.
Declaration on file - 3
Translation
Full translation, with terminology checked against the receiving jurisdiction’s statutes and any prior filings in the case.
Draft v1 · matter glossary attached - 4
Independent revision
A second linguist compares every sentence with the source. Queries go back to the translator and are resolved before release.
Revision log · 0 open queries - 5
Certification
The translator signs and seals a statement of accuracy. Notarisation or apostille is arranged when the receiving authority requires it.
Certificate AV-2026-0417 issued - 6
Delivery & retention
Delivered in the format the court accepts, on paper or as a signed PDF. Working files are retained or destroyed on your written instruction.
Delivery receipt · retention set
Example log · 12-page judgment, standard turnaround
Published service standards
Timelines you can put in a court diary.
We publish our standard turnaround so you can plan a filing before you call. Urgent work is confirmed by a case manager against the actual deadline.
| Service | Standard | Urgent | Delivered as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certified translation, up to 10 pages | 3 working days | 24 hours | Signed and sealed PDF, hard copy on request |
| Certified translation, 11 to 50 pages | 5 to 7 working days | By arrangement | Signed and sealed PDF with page-matched layout |
| Court interpreting, core languages | 1 working day notice | Same day, by phone | Sworn interpreter in court |
| Court interpreting, other languages | 5 working days notice | 48 hours | In court or over a secure video link |
| Audio transcription and translation | 4 working days per hour of audio | 48 hours | Time-coded verbatim transcript with translation |
| Notarisation and apostille | Set by the issuing authority | Expedited where offered | One finished, legalised file |
Working days run Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Timelines start when the complete, legible source has been received.
Canons of practice
Four obligations every linguist signs before the first assignment.
Fidelitas
Accuracy
We render meaning, register and tone as spoken or written. Nothing added, nothing omitted, nothing softened for comfort.
Aequitas
Impartiality
We serve the proceeding, not a party. Any conflict of interest is declared to the court before the interpreter is sworn.
Secretum
Confidentiality
What we hear and read in a matter stays in that matter, during the case and after it has closed.
Modestia
Professional limits
Our interpreters do not give legal advice or explain the law to witnesses. When a term is unclear, they ask the bench.
Across legal traditions
We translate between legal systems, not only languages.
A term is only correct if it means the same thing in the system that will read it. Our linguists know which tradition a document comes from, and which one it is going to.
Civil law
Rwanda’s codes grew from the Belgian civil-law tradition, which it shares with France, Belgium and most of francophone Africa. The law lives in written codes, and judgments reason briefly from them.
In translationAn arrêt is the decision of a higher court, not a “decree”. We keep each court’s own name and give its functional equivalent.
Common law
Since joining the East African Community in 2007 and the Commonwealth in 2009, Rwanda has worked alongside common-law neighbours such as Kenya and Uganda. There, precedent binds and judgments argue at length.
In translationEstoppel, discovery and equity have no clean civil-law equivalent. We explain the concept instead of inventing a word for it.
Regional & international
Regional and international courts draw on both traditions. The East African Court of Justice and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights both sit in Arusha.
In translationWe follow each court’s own published terminology, so a filing reads the way the court itself writes.
Languages
Heard in 40 languages, certified in every one.
From Kigali
One intake desk, every jurisdiction our languages reach.
The routes on the globe run from our desk in Kigali to the cities where our working languages are spoken in court. Terminology is researched against statutes and case law, never guessed.
- 40Working languages
- 4Court languages in-house
- 2Linguists on every certified page
Core court languages, handled in-house · Rwanda’s four official languages
Ikinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda
English
English
Français
French
Kiswahili
Swahili
Rwanda’s Official Gazette publishes laws in Kinyarwanda, English and French. We read all three versions before choosing a term.
Who we work for
Wherever a language barrier stands between a person and a fair hearing.
Courts & tribunals
Interpreters on the court roster and certified translations of evidence, delivered to the registry’s format. Arbitral tribunals and mediation centres too.
Law firms & counsel
Cross-border litigation, arbitration and transactions, with one case manager across every language.
Government & ministries
Legislation, treaties and official gazettes, translated with the consistency public law requires.
International organisations
Investigations, field interviews and reports for NGOs, UN agencies and development partners.
Companies
Contracts, compliance filings and employment disputes, from a single page to a data room.
Individuals & families
Immigration files, civil records and diplomas, explained plainly and priced before we begin.
In pictures
The practice, in detail.
Stamps, seals, statutes and the city we work from. The small things a certified translation is made of.
Practice guides
Well-prepared counsel get better interpreting.
Short, practical guidance from our case managers. Share it with your team before the next filing or hearing.
Preparing a document for certified translation
Most delays come from incomplete scans or missing context. Five checks before you send anything.
Read the guide
- Send every page, including the reverse side, stamps, seals and handwritten notes. Anything visible on the original is translated.
- Scan in colour at 300 dpi or better. Phone photos taken at an angle slow everything down.
- Tell us which court, embassy or authority will receive the translation. Their requirements differ.
- Give us names exactly as they appear in the passport, so every document spells them the same way.
- If the original needs an apostille, obtain it before translation so the apostille is translated too.
Working with a court interpreter
An interpreter renders everything you say, exactly as you say it. A few habits keep your record clean.
Read the guide
- Brief the interpreter in advance with the charge sheet or pleadings, the names involved and any technical vocabulary.
- Address the witness directly in the first person. Ask “Where were you?”, not “Ask him where he was.”
- Speak in short, complete passages and pause. False starts and self-corrections are interpreted too.
- Keep to one speaker at a time. Overlapping speech cannot be interpreted accurately or recorded.
- Let the interpreter ask for a repetition or clarification. It protects your record, not theirs.
Remote hearings with an interpreter
Remote interpreting works well when the technology is set up for it, and badly when it is not.
Read the guide
- Test the link with the interpreter at least 30 minutes before the hearing starts.
- Use wired headsets with microphones. Laptop speakers cause echo the interpreter cannot work through.
- For simultaneous interpreting, provide a separate audio channel so the interpreter’s voice does not cover the floor.
- Share exhibits on screen or in advance. An interpreter cannot sight translate a document they cannot see.
- Frame each speaker’s face clearly. Interpreters rely on lip movement and expression as well as sound.
Chambers · Kigali, Rwanda
Rooted in Kigali. Present wherever the hearing sits.
In court across the region · Remote interpreting worldwide
Questions
Before you file.
If your question is not here, our case managers answer the phone during court hours.
What is the difference between a certified and a sworn translation?
A certified translation carries the translator’s signed statement that it is complete and accurate. A sworn translation is made by a translator who has taken an oath before a court or has been authorised by the state to certify translations. Which one you need depends on the authority receiving the document, so we confirm their requirement before we start.
Will the court or embassy accept your translation?
We prepare every certified translation to the receiving authority’s published requirements, including format, certification wording and any notarisation. If the authority has specific rules we do not already hold on file, we check them with you at intake.
Can you provide an interpreter at short notice?
For our core court languages we can usually staff a hearing within one business day, and remote interpreting sooner. Rarer languages need more notice, so tell us the hearing date as soon as it is listed.
Do you arrange apostilles?
An apostille is issued by the competent authority of the country where the document was produced. We do not issue apostilles ourselves, but we coordinate the process, including notarisation of the translation, so you receive one finished file.
Do you work in arbitration and mediation as well as in court?
Yes. We interpret at arbitration hearings and in mediation sessions, including private caucus, and translate everything the proceeding produces, from the statement of claim to the award or the signed settlement. In litigation we stay with counsel from the first pleading to the appeal.
How do you protect confidential material?
Files arrive over encrypted channels, every linguist signs a declaration for the matter, and access is limited to the people named in the custody log. On your written instruction we destroy working files at the close of the matter and confirm it in writing.
Open a matter
Tell us the deadline. We will work back from it.
Describe what you need and we will prepare a fixed quote and timetable, usually within two working hours.