The Legal Translator's Role — Why a POA's Arabic Is the Real Document

Welcome back to the POA's desk.

In the last episode we covered what court-licensed entities are. In this episode we cover something closely related — the role of translators in POA work, and why translation in legal contexts is more than just converting words from one language to another.

We touched on this in Episode 13 when we covered bilingual drafting. In this episode we go deeper on the translator specifically: who they are, what their authority is, and why their role is central to whether a POA actually works.

A regulated profession

In the UAE, legal translators are a regulated profession. Translators who handle official documents must be licensed by the Ministry of Justice. Their licence authorises them to translate specific languages for use in official UAE contexts, and their seal and signature on a translated document carry legal weight — they are formally attesting that the translation is accurate.

This is different from general translation. A general translator can translate any text from one language to another. A licensed legal translator translates documents that will be submitted to UAE authorities, with their seal certifying the accuracy. The Ministry of Justice maintains a register of these translators, and only documents bearing their certified translations are accepted as legal source documents in many contexts.

Why this matters for POAs

A POA in the UAE must be in Arabic. The Arabic version is the binding legal text. So the translation from English to Arabic is not a convenience — it is the production of the actual legal document. A poor translation produces a poor legal document; a precise translation produces a precise legal document.

Legal translation requires more than language fluency. It requires understanding of legal concepts in both source and target languages. A power that exists in one legal system may not have a direct equivalent in the other, and the translator has to choose terminology that conveys the legal effect intended, not just the literal meaning.

Where the difficulty lies

The English term "to grant power" can be translated to Arabic in several ways, each with slightly different legal connotations, and the translator must choose the term that matches the specific authority being granted. The English distinction between "shall" and "may" — between a mandatory and a permissive provision — is sometimes blurred in casual translation, but in legal documents it matters: a POA that says the attorney "may sign" gives discretion, while one that says the attorney "shall sign" creates an obligation, and the Arabic must preserve that distinction. The English structure of compound powers — "to sign, execute, and deliver" — has Arabic equivalents that are not always direct, so the translator must capture the same scope without redundancy or ambiguity. And borrowed legal terms — phrases like "in propria persona" or "ex officio" — need to be rendered into Arabic legal terminology, which has its own conventions.

Formatting and procedural requirements

Beyond accuracy, the translator's seal must appear on the Arabic version, including the translator's name, licence number, and contact details — without the seal, the document is not a properly translated legal text. The translator's signature must accompany the seal; both are required. The translation must be physically attached to the source document, with cross-references confirming it is of that specific source, as loose or unbound translations may not be accepted. And in some specific cases the translator may be required to attend the notarisation in person to confirm the translation — uncommon for standard POAs, but it does occur for certain document types.

The common mistakes

The first is trying to save money with a non-licensed translation — by a friend, a cheap service, or an online tool. The Arabic version is then technically present but not legally certified, so the receiving authority rejects the document because it does not bear a licensed translator's seal, and the principal pays for re-translation by a licensed translator and re-notarisation. The second is using a translator licensed for the wrong language pair: a translator licensed for English–Arabic is not the same as one licensed for French–Arabic, so if the source document is in French, an English–Arabic translator cannot certify the translation. The third is not verifying that the translator is currently licensed — translator licences can lapse, and a translation by an expired licence holder is not valid.

At POAS we use Ministry of Justice-licensed translators with current licences for English–Arabic. For other source languages, we coordinate with appropriately licensed translators based on the principal's home country. The translation work is included in the fixed fee, and we verify the translation against the source language before notarisation.

The translator's role is sometimes invisible to the principal — they never meet the translator, they just receive the bilingual document — but the quality of the work behind that bilingual presentation is one of the central factors determining whether the POA will work or be rejected.

In Episode 28 we cover the Apostille and consular attestation routes — when remote notarisation is not available and the principal must use one of the older paths.

I'm Patrick. Thanks for joining me at the POA's desk.