Hong Kong Regulations

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES (TRANSLATION) RULES - SECT 2

Certified translation of documents

(1) The Chief Justice may appoint in writing any person to make and to
certify, for the purposes of these Rules, translations of documents from one
official language to the other official language.

(2) A person appointed under subrule (1) may certify a translation of a
document written in one of the official languages even though he did not make
the translation.

(3) A court must admit in evidence a translation to an official language of
the whole or any part of a document in the other official language which has
been admitted in evidence in civil or criminal proceedings before it if the
translation is certified by a person appointed under subrule (1) as an
accurate translation.

(4) The translation must be admitted on its production without further proof.
The court must presume in the absence of evidence to the contrary-

   (a)  the signature on the document of the person certifying is genuine;

   (b)  the person certifying was appointed under subrule (1) at the time of
        certifying the document;

   (c)  the document is an accurate translation of the whole or part of the
        document to which it purports to refer.

(5) The court may, if it thinks fit, on its own motion or on the application
of a party to the proceedings, summons the person who certified the
translation of a document produced and admitted in evidence under this rule
and examine him on the subject matter of the translation of the document.
(Enacted 1996)