Legal Translation Skill v0.2.0
Legal translation that thinks about legal effect, not literal words.
This skill is the international extension of Modern Jurist — a legal translation
app originally built for the Indian legal ecosystem (English ↔ Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati,
Kannada), which reached an advanced stage of development and was recognised for its
approach of translating legal intent and effect, not just words. This skill takes that
same philosophy global: every language pair, every jurisdiction, every document type.
The goal is not to produce a finished translation. The goal is to produce a high-quality
draft that a bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator can review, verify, and
finalise for use.
Audience
This skill is designed for use by:
- Bilingual lawyers reviewing AI-assisted drafts before client or court use
- Qualified legal translators using AI to accelerate first-draft production
- In-house counsel working across jurisdictions who need a working draft for review
- Legal paralegals preparing documents for supervising lawyer sign-off
Not for: end-clients self-serving translations of binding instruments without lawyer review. Every output from this skill is a draft, not a final-form instrument.
Not in Scope
Stop and redirect if the request falls into any of these categories:
- Certified / sworn translations required for court filing, immigration authorities, or official government submission — route to a credentialed sworn translator in the relevant jurisdiction
- Apostilled documents where the translation must itself be re-apostilled — the apostille chain requires a human certified translator
- Jurisdictions with statutory restrictions on AI-assisted translation of court filings or legal instruments (check local bar rules before proceeding)
- Documents where no bilingual reviewer is available — if the user cannot identify a qualified bilingual reviewer, do not produce a full translation; explain why and suggest they engage a certified translator
- Requests for legal advice on the translated content — this skill translates; it does not advise on legal effect in the target jurisdiction
If any of the above applies, say so clearly and stop.
Work Shape
This is accretive-judgment work — the output is a draft for a bilingual reviewer, not a final-form instrument. Every output must:
- Be watermarked:
⚠ DRAFT — Bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator review required before execution or filing
- Include clause-level confidence bands (see Step 3)
- Include at least one specific clause flagged for lawyer review in Translator's Notes
- End with the delegation gate (see Step 6)
Escalation Triggers — Halt and Ask
Stop translating and ask the user before proceeding if any of the following apply:
- Document type cannot be identified — ask the user to describe it
- Source or target jurisdiction is unclear — do not assume; ask
- Target language not specified — ask; never assume from context
- Document contains untranslatable terms with material legal effect — flag each one, explain the gap, ask how to proceed
- Request is for a certified/sworn output — explain this is out of scope; redirect
- Governing law clause conflicts with party addresses or stated jurisdiction — flag the conflict; ask which governs
- Source text is ambiguous in a way that changes legal meaning — do not resolve arbitrarily; flag and ask
The Four Layers of Legal Translation
Every legal translation must work at all four layers simultaneously:
- Linguistic — correct grammar, syntax, vocabulary in target language
- Legal-technical — correct legal terms of art, not dictionary translations
- Jurisdictional — how this type of document is actually drafted in the target language's legal system
- Pragmatic — does this read like it was drafted natively? Would a lawyer in the target jurisdiction trust this document?
A translation that passes Layer 1 but fails Layer 4 is useless for legal purposes.
Step-by-Step Workflow
Step 1 — Intake and Analysis
Before translating a single word, analyze the document:
Required inputs — if any are missing, ask before proceeding:
- Source language (required)
- Source jurisdiction (required — do not proceed with assumed jurisdiction)
- Target language (required)
- Target jurisdiction (required — do not proceed with assumed jurisdiction)
Also identify:
- Document type (see Document Type Library below)
- Parties and their roles
- All defined terms (these must be translated consistently throughout)
- Special clauses: arbitration, governing law, force majeure, indemnity, liability caps
- Dates, reference numbers, amounts — note all; they must not change
Read the right reference file:
- For target language conventions →
references/legal-language-conventions.md
- For document-type patterns →
references/document-type-library.md
- For legal terms across languages →
references/legal-glossary.md
State your intake findings briefly before translating, e.g.:
"Detected: English lease agreement (Indian jurisdiction) → Hindi (Maharashtra). Parties: Landlord / Tenant. Defined terms: 8. Special clauses: arbitration (Mumbai seat), notice period. No escalation triggers. Proceeding."
Step 2 — Pre-Translation Glossary Build
For any document over ~200 words, mentally build a translation glossary first:
- List all defined terms in the source document
- Assign their target-language equivalents (consistently)
- Note any terms with no direct equivalent in the target legal system
- Note proper nouns, company names, reference numbers — flag these as UNTRANSLATED
For long documents, show this glossary to the user before proceeding:
"Before I translate, here are my term mappings: [table]. Does this look right?"
This is the single most important quality step. Inconsistent term translation is the #1 failure mode in legal translation.
Step 3 — Translate with Confidence Bands
The golden rule: Translate legal effect, not legal words.
Assign a confidence band to every clause or section:
| Band | Meaning |
|---|
| 🟢 H | Standard term with a well-established direct equivalent in the target legal system. Low reviewer burden. |
| 🟡 M | Term of art with a documented equivalent, but jurisdictional drift is possible. Reviewer should verify. |
| 🔴 L | No direct equivalent in target legal system — explanatory translation only. Lawyer must review and adapt. |
Mark each clause or section with its band in the output: [H], [M], or [L].
Apply these rules without exception:
Structure
- Preserve ALL structural elements: clause numbering (1.1, 1.1.1), headings, sub-headings, schedules, annexures, recitals, definitions sections, signature blocks
- Never merge or split clauses
- Never reorder content
- Tables → preserve as tables; column headers translated, data preserved
Legal Language Conventions
- Use the traditional formal opening for this document type in the target language (see
references/document-type-library.md)
- WHEREAS clauses → translate to the traditional recital form in target language
- IN WITNESS WHEREOF → translate to the traditional closing attestation in target language
- Operative words (shall, will, must, may, agrees to) → use their correct legal equivalents, not conversational equivalents
- "Shall" in legal drafting ≠ future tense; it means obligation — translate accordingly
Defined Terms
- Once a term is defined (e.g., "the Company"), use only that translated term everywhere
- Never paraphrase a defined term mid-document
- Definitions section → translate the definition label AND the definition body
Proper Nouns — STRICT RULE
- Party names (people, companies) → NEVER translate, NEVER transliterate unless specifically requested
- Place names → keep in original, add transliteration in parentheses on first use if target uses a different script
- Reference numbers, case numbers, registration numbers → NEVER change
Dates and Numbers — STRICT RULE
- Dates: preserve in original format; optionally add local format in parentheses
- Currency: preserve symbol and amount exactly (₹50,000 stays ₹50,000)
- Percentages, fractions, measurements → never change
Operative vs Recital Language
- Recitals (WHEREAS) → descriptive, past/present tense, translate naturally
- Operative provisions (the actual obligations) → precise, use "shall/will/must" equivalents, no ambiguity
- Definitions → match the formality and precision of the source
Step 4 — Transliteration (when requested or needed)
Transliteration = converting a word's sounds into a different script, while translation = converting its meaning.
When to transliterate vs translate:
| Scenario | Approach |
|---|
| Party name in a different script | Transliterate (e.g., "Rahul Sharma" → "راحل شرما" in Urdu script) |
| Company name | Transliterate, never translate |
| A legal term that exists in the source jurisdiction but not the target | Translate + transliterate original in parentheses |
| Place names | Translate official name if one exists; otherwise transliterate |
| Currency names | Translate (rupee → روپیہ) |
| Legal latin phrases (force majeure, mens rea, etc.) | Keep in Latin; add translated meaning in parentheses |
Transliteration quality rules:
- Use the most widely accepted romanization/script convention for the language pair
- For Devanagari ↔ Latin: use IAST standard for formal/academic; simplified phonetic for legal
- For Arabic ↔ Latin: use simplified ALA-LC for legal documents
- For Cyrillic ↔ Latin: use BGN/PCGN romanization
- For Chinese ↔ Latin: use Hanyu Pinyin with tone marks
- For Japanese ↔ Latin: use Modified Hepburn
Always mark transliterations clearly: [transliteration] or in italics
Step 5 — Format and Present Output
Mandatory output header on every translation:
⚠ DRAFT — Bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator review required before execution or filing
Skill: legal-translation v0.2.0 | Source: [language/jurisdiction] | Target: [language/jurisdiction]
For inline text (pasted content, short extracts):
Show the full translated text in a clean block with confidence bands per clause. Follow with Translator's Notes.
For full documents:
---
⚠ DRAFT — Bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator review required before execution or filing
---
[DOCUMENT HEADER - translated]
---
[Full translated document body — each clause marked [H], [M], or [L]]
---
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:
[See Step 6]
---
For file inputs (PDF/DOCX) → file outputs:
- Read source file using pdf-reading skill or docx skill as appropriate
- Produce translated DOCX using the docx skill
- Preserve formatting: fonts, spacing, heading styles, tables
- For RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian): note to user that paragraph direction must be set RTL in Word
For bilingual documents (side-by-side):
Present in a two-column table: Original | Translation, clause by clause, with confidence band in a third column.
Step 6 — Translator's Notes and Delegation Gate
Every output ends with this structure:
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES
==================
Confidence summary: [X clauses H] [Y clauses M] [Z clauses L]
Terms with no direct equivalent:
• [term] — [what was chosen and why] [L]
Jurisdictional gaps:
• [any concept that exists in source jurisdiction but not target]
Flagged for mandatory lawyer review:
• Clause [X] — [reason: untranslatable term / jurisdictional gap / operative ambiguity]
• [at least one clause must always be listed here]
Transliteration key:
• [any names or terms that were transliterated]
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DELEGATION GATE
This output is a translation draft, not a final-form legal instrument.
✗ This is NOT legal advice. Interpretation of legal effect in the target
jurisdiction is the responsibility of a qualified lawyer in that jurisdiction.
✗ Privilege warning: If this document is privileged or work-product protected,
sharing it for translation may break privilege unless the translator is within
the privilege circle. Confirm with supervising counsel before sharing.
✗ Accountability: The bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator reviewing
this draft is accountable for the final translation — not this skill.
✗ For court filing, official submission, apostilled documents, or certified use:
engage a sworn/certified translator in the relevant jurisdiction.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Failure Modes
(i) Legal advice vs. legal support
This skill provides translation support, not legal advice. It does not and cannot:
- Advise on whether a translated clause will be enforceable in the target jurisdiction
- Advise on whether the original document's terms are commercially appropriate
- Interpret legal effect in the target jurisdiction's courts
Interpretation of legal effect in the target jurisdiction is the local lawyer's call.
(ii) Privilege implications
Translating a privileged document or work-product may break legal professional privilege if the document is shared outside the privilege circle. Before translating any litigation document, draft legal advice, or privileged communication:
- Confirm the translator is within the privilege circle (e.g., engaged by the same client or instructed by the same lawyer)
- Flag this to the user if the document appears to be privileged material
(iii) Accountability gap
This skill produces a draft. The bilingual lawyer or qualified legal translator named in the engagement is accountable for the final translation. This skill is not a substitute for professional accountability.
File Handling
| Input type | Method |
|---|
| Uploaded PDF | Use pdf-reading skill: pdftotext -layout first; rasterize pages if garbled/scanned |
| Uploaded DOCX | Use docx skill: extract-text document.docx |
| Pasted text | Translate directly |
| Scanned image/PDF | Rasterize pages with pdftoppm, read visually via vision, then translate |
| Output type | Method |
|---|
| Chat (default) | Present translated text in clean formatted block with draft watermark |
| DOCX output | Use docx skill to produce formatted Word document; include draft watermark in header |
| Bilingual DOCX | Two-column table + confidence band column in DOCX via docx skill |
| PDF output | Use pdf skill |
Document Type Library
Quick reference — for full patterns, see references/document-type-library.md.
| Document Type | Key Features to Preserve |
|---|
| Contract / Agreement | Definitions section, operative clauses, representations & warranties, governing law, dispute resolution |
| MoU / LoI | Non-binding language, intent clauses, exclusivity provisions |
| Affidavit | Solemn declaration language, deponent identity, court reference, jurat |
| Power of Attorney | Scope of authority, revocation terms, principal/agent designations |
| Will / Testament | Testator identity, beneficiary designations, executor appointment, revocation of prior wills |
| Lease / Tenancy Agreement | Property description, rental amounts, term, renewal, termination clauses |
| Court Order | Court identity, case reference, operative orders, compliance timelines, judge's authority |
| Legal Notice | Notice period, demand/action requested, consequences of non-compliance |
| Petition / Application | Court/authority addressed, relief sought, grounds, prayer clause |
| Corporate Resolution | Entity identity, quorum, resolution operative language, authorization |
| IP Assignment | IP description, consideration, warranty of ownership, assignment operative clause |
| Employment Contract | Designation, compensation, IP assignment, non-compete, termination |
| Arbitration Clause | Seat, rules, language, number of arbitrators |
| Immigration Document | Personal data fields, authority stamps, reference numbers |
Supported Language Pairs
This skill handles all major language pairs. For language-specific conventions and script guidance, see references/legal-language-conventions.md.
Priority legal languages (most common in international legal work):
- English ↔ Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch
- English ↔ Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu
- English ↔ Arabic (MSA), Hebrew, Turkish, Persian
- English ↔ Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean
- English ↔ Russian, Ukrainian, Polish
- Any ↔ Any (not just English-based)
Script awareness:
- RTL scripts (Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian, Sindhi) → flag layout direction in output
- Devanagari (Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit) → always native script unless user requests romanization
- CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) → use appropriate character set; never mix Simplified/Traditional Chinese
- Latin-script languages with diacritics (French, German, Spanish, Polish, Vietnamese) → never drop accent marks
Quality Checklist
Run this before presenting any translation:
Reference Files
Read these when needed — do not load all at once:
references/legal-glossary.md — ~80 core legal terms translated across 12 languagesreferences/legal-language-conventions.md — Document conventions, formal openings/closings, script rules, and jurisdiction notes for major legal languagesreferences/document-type-library.md — Full templates and structural patterns for 14 document types across languages
Review cadence: ad hoc. Report issues at https://github.com/braveheartjun/Modern-Jurist-international-legal-translation-skill/issues
