Category: Business Spanish Courses Online – Legal Spanish Tips

Adjective. From the Latin vigentis; which is in force. Said of a law, an ordinance, a style or a custom: that is in force and observance.
We use it in expression such as ley vigente: current law; contrato vigente: current contract; constitución vigente: current constitution. E.g: La legislación vigente no brinda suficiente protección a las ballenas: The current legislation gives insufficient protection for whales; Las leyes aprobadas hace dos años aún siguen vigentes: The laws passed two years ago still remain in force; La legislación vigente otorga varios derechos a los ciudadanos: The standing legislation grants several rights to the citizens.
It is also possible to say en vigor, but it is less common in the professional field. ley en vigor, contrato en vigor, constitución en vigor.
The noun is la vigencia. dc

Masculine noun. From the Latin placitum, pleasant for all, agreed, adjusted. In its current use, plazo comes from dies placitus, agreed day.
In Legal Spanish, plazo refers to the term or time designated for something. We use it in expressions such as corto/mediano/largo plazo: short/medium/long-term. E.g: También incluye plazo a término para los permisos de registro: It also includes a due date for registration permits.
From plazo we have the verb aplazar: to postpone; and emplazar: to summon the defendant indicating the period within which they will need to appear at the trial to exercise their defences, exceptions or counterclaims. The action of aplazar is called aplazamiento and of emplazar is called emplazamiento (masculine noun); Entre el emplazamiento del demandado y la audiencia, deben mediar por lo menos tres días, término que será ampliado en razón de la distancia: There must be at least three days between the issuing of the summons to the respondent and the hearing, based on distances. The person who emplaza is called emplazante. This verb can also be reflexive: emplazarse: to give each other a term; e.g.: Rusia y Ucrania se emplazan a seguir negociando mientras el Kremlin intensifica su ofensiva. dc

Noun. From the Latin testis, head. The one who gives his head/face. Person who testifies or attests something. Still today in Spanish the expression dar la cara, tho give the face, means both to face the consequences and to show one’s own face.
Please note that the female forms of this noun is la testigo and las testigos.
The verb is testimoniar: to testify; the adjective is testimonial, e.g: declaración testimonial: witness statement.
There is another noun with the same root: el/un testimonio; which apart from meaning witness statement it is also the word used in the legal field to speak about a copy of a document, e.g: Adjunto el testimonio de la escritura: I am attaching the copy of the deed. It makes sense as a copy simply testifies the original document. dc

Verb. From the Latin comparescere, appear before another person.
In Legal Spanish it means to appear personally or by proxy before a public body, especially before a judge or court. E.g: Esa obligación sólo se puede invocar únicamente cuando el procesado debe comparecer en persona: That obligation could be invoked only when the defendant was required to appear in person; Mi país no se arriesga deliberadamente a que hoy se le condene y se le haga comparecer ante el Tribunal de Justicia: My country did not happily enter into its current position of being condemned and hauled up before the Court of Justice.
The nouns are la comparecencia and el/la compareciente (the person that comparece). dc

Feminine plural noun. From the Latin folium. Page. In Legal Spanish, a file has not páginas but fojas. E.g. …de acuerdo con la declaración testimonial a fojas 25, according to the testimonial statement on page 25. Note that we say a fojas (plural) and not en foja, but if we are speaking about a book we say en página 25.
Another twist, a escritura, a contract and an administrative file have no fojas nor páginas but folios (masculine noun). E.g. Como atesta la firma en folio 4, as as attested by the signature on page 4.
In all cases you can still say página, but it’s not what a lawyer would do. dc