Power of Attorney Translation
A power of attorney (POA), or a letter of attorney, is a document in which the principal declares their intent, thereby authorizing the agent, i.e. another person or entity, to act on their behalf in legal matters. This documents contains the principal’s and the agent’s personal details, the scope of legal authority (what the agent is authorized to do), and the principal’s signature (the duration of the power of attorney is also usually specified).
Power of attorney translation is a special subtype of legal translation, which calls for excellent expertise in the legal systems of the countries where the source and target languages are spoken. POZENA translators are specialists who constantly update their knowledge of legal provisions in Poland and in the country where the POA was issued. Accordingly, they produce reliable and top-quality translations, both in terms of content and language.
Some powers of attorney require notarization. In such cases, we provide a certified (notarized) translation to formally attest that the translated document is a true and accurate copy of the original.
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Professional translation of powers of attorney include the following
- general powers of attorney – they authorize the agent to make a broad range of decisions, such as managing the property or representing the principal in courts of law, offices and business entities.
- special powers of attorney – they authorize the agent to make one specific legal decision.
- temporary powers of attorney – they authorize the agent to make a legal decision within a specified time frame.
Why the knowledge of the history of English may be useful in the translation of an English POA?
Even an excellent command of contemporary English may prove insufficient in the translation of English powers of attorney. This is largely due to the fact that these documents contain archaisms which have long existed in legal English. They have remained unchanged over the centuries because the English common law is based on precedents which are passed on from one generation of lawyers to another, and hence are deeply rooted in the special language of the law. A good example of this phenomenon is the POA opening formula "Know all ye men" (roughly meaning “let it be known”), which in Polish can be rendered as “Niniejszym oświadczam, że…”. A good translator of English POAs should thus have expertise in the history of the English language.