Category: Legal Spanish Vocabulary

Masculine noun. Activo is the set of all assets and rights with monetary value that are owned by a company, institution or individual. E.g.: Las inversiones en activos emitidos por el mismo emisor o por emisores pertenecientes a un mismo grupo no deberán exponer: Investments in assets issued by the same issuer or by issuers belonging to the same group shall not expose the undertaking.
By the way, as an adjective, activo means active. dc

Masculine noun. In Legal Spanish, a fallo is a sentence of a judge, an arbitrator or a court, and in it, especially, the decisive or imperative pronouncement. E.g.: El fallo del árbitro será vinculante y podrá ser presentado como sentencia y ejecutado ante cualquier tribunal de jurisdicción competente: The arbitrator’s award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The verb is fallar.
By the way, fallo means also failure and fallar to fail. dc

Masculine noun. In Legal Spanish, otorgamiento means permission, granting, consent, license. E.g.: El otorgamiento de derechos a los grupos entraña el establecimiento o el fortalecimiento de instituciones populares locales: Granting rights to groups involves establishing or strengthening local people’s institutions.
The verb is otorgar. dc

Verb. This word is almost exclusively used in formal or legal contexts and it means to contribute or help something to happen or take place. E.g.: Los arreglos regionales podrían tener la ventaja de coadyuvar a ampliar la variedad de regímenes normativos: There is an advantage in the potential of regional arrangements to contribute to enlarging the variety of policy frameworks.
The noun is coadyuvancia and the adjective coadyuvante. E.g.: La “nueva” estrategia gubernamental es un diálogo sin la parte contraria, sin mediación, sin coadyuvancia, es decir, un monólogo: The “new” governmental strategy is a dialogue without the other part, without mediation, without collaboration; in other words, a monologue. dc

Feminine noun. In Legal Spanish, capacidad has two different meanings.
1.Capacidad jurídica/legal: Legal aptitude to be subject of rights and obligations. E.g.: La Academia tiene capacidad legal para comprar bienes y propiedades, incurrir en obligaciones y llevar a cabo…: The Academy is legally entitled to purchase assets and properties, incur obligations and carry out operations…
2.Capacidad de obrar: Ability to personally exercise a right and the fulfilment of an obligation. E.g.: Todos los ciudadanos de la República que hayan cumplido los 18 años y tengan capacidad de obrar y domicilio permanente en el distrito electoral o municipio: Every national of the Republic, who has reached 18 years of age and has a capacity to contract, and who has a permanent place of residence in an electoral district.
Of course, capacidad also means capacity when we speak about a volume. dc

Feminine noun. In Legal Spanish, competencia is the legal sphere of powers that correspond to a public entity or a judicial or administrative authority. E.g.: Paralelamente, su competencia penal se hacía extensiva a los delitos cometidos por sus ciudadanos fuera de su territorio: Similarly, its criminal jurisdiction extends to crimes committed by its citizens outside its territory, including when serving…
By the way, competencia also means competition. dc