Category: Business Spanish Courses Online – Legal Spanish Tips

Adjective. From the Latin aliēnus, and this one from alĭus, other. Belonging to another person.
Most dictionaries will translate ajeno as alien, but, the real translation is a bit more complicated. It is important to notice that ajeno is just an adjective while alien can be an adjective and a noun. In fact, the title of the movie Alien cannot be translated into Spanish and it is known in the Spanish world simply as Alien.
We use this adjective in expressions like amigo de lo ajeno, a thief; in the tenth commandment (mandamiento): no codiciarás los bienes ajenos: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; and sentir vergüenza ajena, to feel embarrassed by someone else’s behaviour; trabajador/a por cuenta ajena: employed person (It makes sense, as an employee works for someone else’s interests).
In Legal Spanish, we use ajeno in venta de cosa ajena, fraud by selling something that does not belong to you; in the verb enajenar, to transfer the property; and the noun enajenación, transference of property. dc

Feminine noun. From the Latin sollicitūdo. In Legal and Business Spanish is a letter or document in which something is officially requested, an application form. The verb is solicitar. If you are applying for a job, the expression is rellenar una/la solicitud de trabajo. The same if you are requesting anything from an authority, e.g.: solicitud de exención contributiva, solicitar una exención impositiva.
If you are applying to the university, we use inscribirse en la universidad. Iscribirse infers that the application was accepted, in this case it would be better solicitar la inscripción en la universidad. If the U.K. is joining the EU, the expression is ingresar en la UE. The noun is el ingreso. If you are filling the application form to join a gym or a club, we use inscribirse en un gimnasio/un club. The noun is la inscripción. Please do not use aplicar para el gimnasio, etc., even if you hear it from your Spanish speaking friends. It is not just wrong, it also sounds awful.
Aplicar in Spanish has mainly two meanings 1. to put something on something else or in contact with something else and; 2. to employ, manage or put into practice a knowledge, measure or principle, in order to obtain a certain effect or performance in someone or something. In these cases the noun is la aplicación and the adjective aplicable: ley aplicable: applicable law.
Another way of saying ‘to join’ is the expression sumarse a; e.g.: Suiza se sumó a las sanciones de la UE contra Rusia y congeló los activos de Putin: Switzerland joined the EU sanctions against Russia and froze Putin’s assets. As you can see, it is used to express the idea of joining an initiative or an action. dc

Feminine noun. From the Latin resolutĭo, -ōnis, and this one from the verb resolvĕre; form by re, and solvĕre, to unleash, to release, to finish.
In Legal Spanish resolución has three different meanings:
1. In resolución de conflictos, it means the set of techniques and skills that are put into practice to find the best non-violent solution to a conflict, problem or misunderstanding that exists between two or more people and even personal.
2. In resolución de contratos, it is a special effect product of the will of the parties or the judicial declaration by means of which a contract is null and void. It generally has retroactive effects and all future effects of the contract cease.
3. In resolución judicial, it means a sentence that puts an end to a conflict.
The verb in all cases is resolver.
As, you can see, we are always speaking about endings. dc

Verb. From the Latin complere, to fulfil, to complete, to finish. Verb formed by the prefix con- (joint action) and the verb plere (to fill).
In Legal Spanish it means to do what one must or what one is obliged to do. It is used in expressions as cumplir un contrato o incumplir un contrato. Noun: el cumplimiento/incumplimiento de un contrato: fulfilment/breach of contract.
The verb cumplir is used also to say cumplir años and it is the root of the noun cumpleaños: birthday. Hoy cumplo años, hoy es mi cumpleaños. A curiosity: we cannot say el cumplimiento de años but el cumpleaños. dc

Feminine noun. From the Latin culpa, fault.
In Legal Spanish culpa refers to the omission of the due diligence, which implies that the resulting harmful fact motivates civil or criminal liability.
From culpa we have two different adjectives: a. culposo, as in delito culposo, which is an unintentional act or omission that causes harm to a person; in other words, it is a harmful act done without dolo, that is, without having a malicious intention of committing harm to another; and b. culpable, translated as guilty. dc