Up until now, official translations in Cyprus were solely carried out by the Press and Information Office via its translators' associates, but things are about to change as soon as notification is obtained by the Minister of Interior, introducing the Registry of Sworn Translators as per the new Law 45(I)/2019.

The House of Representatives proceeded with the adoption of new legislation relating to certified translators, namely the Law 45(I)/2019. The said law introduces the concept of a sworn translator namely a private translator who performs certified translations as a sworn translator, particularly valid and accurate translations from a foreign language to Greek or Turkish, or vice versa. These translations are considered valid and accepted by the Courts in Cyprus and the authorities of the Republic as they bear the seal of the Republic and are duly stamped. However in order for one to be considered as a sworn translator as per the Law, he or she will need to be registered in the Registry of Sworn Translators and satisfy the conditions set out under article 6 of the Law which provide a clear description of the criteria that each translator needs to fulfil and also hold. For the functioning of the said Registry, the responsibility shall lie on the Council of Sworn Translators. Moreover, the procedure that needs to be followed in order to be successfully registered in the Registry of Sworn Translators is clearly set out by the law and will need to be followed.

Besides the above, the said law also provides provisions for lawyers particularly article 14(2) states that a person exercising the role of an attorney and who is registered in the Registry, as well as the law firm with whom the said lawyer is employed in, cannot handle a case related to the documents which he or she translated(he or she can be registered in the Registrar and offer certified translations in other circumstances, as per the law). Of great interest is also the fact that another provision of the law states that lawyers which are not registered in the Registry, can translate only the cases handled by them or by the law firm they work in, and that these translations can exceptionally be accepted by the Courts and the authorities of the Republic as certified translations if they are accompanied by a sworn statement, which must expressly state the specific reason as to why the said translation is completed by the lawyer instead of by the Certified Translator.

Overall the introduction of the above law and the introduction of the Registry of Sworn translators can be considered as a positive step in removing the need to obtain official translations solely by the Press and Information Office as was the case up until now.

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