In the season 2024-2025 the Dutch-English & English-Dutch Legal Translation Course will be held for the 31st time, for the fourth time in an online version. 

Course description 

Besides technical and literary translation, legal translation ranks among the most important but also the most difficult specializations: because of the opaque legalese, the often woolly language and the large number of ‘stock phrases’, many legal documents (contracts, deeds, statutes, and other official documents) are incomprehensible and too difficult for translators who do not have profound professional knowledge.

First and foremost, the course aims to broaden the participants’ general knowledge of the law, as such knowledge enables translators to solve problems with the details of texts with which they are continually faced much faster. 

In addition, the participants learn to understand a large number of document types and they gradually become familiar with the relevant terminology  and ‘standard phrases’.

Finally, the course presents an elaborate overview of the reference works and other sources of information that translators may find useful. Soon the participants learn that they cannot have implicit faith in ‘Van den End’ or the many other terminology lists or lexicons that are circulating.

Previous Qualifications
The course is aimed particularly at those who have already acquired a solid grounding in ‘general translation’ skills and who intend to specialize in legal translation.

There are no formal admission requirements but it goes without saying that non-lawyers who do not have a solid background in general translation are ill-advised to sign up for the course.

The Legal Translation Correspondence Course
The course can also be taken by email correspondence. The online students follow exactly the same course programme as the online students.  

Course Fee
The online course comprises 33 3½-hour Teams sessions (from 6.30 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and costs EUR 1,350 if the tuition fee is paid in full at the start of the course; if the fee is paid in three instalments, the fee amounts to EUR 1,500 (three times EUR 500). The course materials are included in the course fee. Textbooks etc. are at the participant’s expense.

The correspondence course costs EUR 1050 if the fee is paid in full at the start of the course; if the fee is paid in three instalments, the fee amounts to EUR 1350 (three times EUR 450). The correspondence course is governed by the same general conditions of enrolment and payment as the regular course. Those who wish to enrol for the correspondence course must indicate this on the enrolment form after the ‘name of the course’ section. Course materials are included in the course fee. Textbooks etc. are at the participant’s expense.

Certificate
The course does not have an examination; participants who have successfully completed the entire course receive a certificate. 

PE Points
The regular course qualifies for 235 PE points. The correspondence course qualifies for 136 PE points.

• Programme for the Legal Translation Course

• Survival Kit for the Legal Translation Course

• Where and When Legal Translation Course

• Enrolment for the Legal Translation Course
• General Terms and Conditions for the Legal Translation Course
• Enrolment Form for the Legal Translation Course

• Handout example 1
• Handout example 2
• Handout example 3
• Handout example 4
• Translation theory
• Translation theory guidelines
• Shall Sheet
• Example of theoretical assignment regarding legal systems
• Example of Dutch-English translation assignment
• Example of English-Dutch translation assignment
• Example of Dutch-English model translation
• Example of English-Dutch model translation
• Correction Symbols