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Certification requirements and legal remedies : Brandenburg

Landeswappen von Brandenburg
  1. General Information

    The courts of the State of Brandenburg require interpreting and translating services to provide oral and written language mediation pursuant to § 189 Sect. 2 Court Constitutional Code by generally sworn interpreters, and written language mediation pursuant to § 142 Sect. 3 Civil Procedure Code by authorized translators. The general swearingin also includes the authorization pursuant to § 142 Sect. 3 Civil Procedure Code to generate the translation of a document written in a foreign language, and to certify the accuracy and completeness of a translation of a document written in a foreign language. Languages in the sense of this law shall also be the sign language and other recognized communications techniques.

  2. Legal basis

    Brandenburg Language Professionals Act (Brandenburgisches Sprachmittlergesetz - BbgSpMG) of 16 December 2022

    Jurisdiction Ordinance for Brandenburg Language Professionals Act (Brandenburgische Sprachmittlergesetzzuständigkeitsverordnung - BbgSpMGZV) of 2 January 2023

  3. Requirement for the authorisation by oath and appointment

    Sections 3, 4 Brandenburg Language Professionals Act (BbgSpMG):

    1. A person can be generally authorised by oath or generally sworn as interpreter (allgemeine Beeidigung) upon application who is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or a citizen of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or a person who has his or her professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states, who is of full age, lives in settled financial circumstances, is reliable and possesses the requisite specialist knowledge of the German language and of the language for which authorisation by oath or appointment is granted. A person possesses the requisite specialist knowledge if he or she has a fundamental knowledge of German legal language and has passed one of the following examinations:

      2. As interpreter

      • an examination in interpreting of a state or state-recognised examination board or another state or state-recognised examination in Germany for the profession of interpreter or

      • an examination in another country which has been recognised by a competent German authority as being equivalent to an examination under Section 3 (2), sentence 1., number 1., letter a. BbgSpMG

    2. The interpreter shall swear the following oath: “I hereby swear that I shall translate the negotiations or documents from or to (state the respective language) accurately and to the best of my abilities.” For the swearing-in of an interpreter for negotiations with hearing and speech-impaired persons, the oath to be administered shall be changed accordingly. If the interpreter states that he/she is unable to provide such oath for religious or conscience reasons, he/she shall provide an affirmation instead. Otherwise, the directives of the Civil Procedure Code regarding the process for administering oaths and affirmations shall apply accordingly.

    3. A person can be generally authorised or generally sworn as translator (allgemeine Ermächtigung) upon application who is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or a citizen of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or a person who has his or her professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states, who is of full age, lives in settled financial circumstances, is reliable and possesses the requisite specialist knowledge of the German language and of the language for which general authorisation as translator is granted. A person possesses the requisite specialist knowledge if he or she has a fundamental knowledge of German legal language and has passed one of the following examinations:

      4. As translator

      • an examination in translation of a state or state-recognised examination board or another state or state-recognised examination in Germany for the profession of translator or

      • an examination in another country which has been recognised by a competent German authority as being equivalent to an examination under Section 3 (2) sentence 1, number 2., letter a. BbgSpMG

    4. The specialist knowledge required under Section 3 (1) number 6. BbgSpMG can be verified by means other than an examination passed under Section 3 (2) sentence 1. BbgSpMG, if there is a special need for general authorisation by oath or general swearing as interpreter or authorisation or swearing as translator and

      • no examination in translation or interpreting under Section 3 (2) sentence 1, number 1., letter a. and number 2., letter a. BbgSpMG is offered in Germany or

      • there is no examination in translation or interpreting classified as comparable to an examination passed in another country recognised by a competent German authority under Section 3 (2) sentence 1, number 1., letter b. and number 2, letter b. BbgSpMG.

    5. The authorisation as sworn translator includes the right (under Section 142 (3) of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung - ZPO)) to certify the correctness and completeness of translations for the relevant language for which the translator is authorised while specifying the title in accordance with Section 5 (4) sentence 2 BbgSpMG. Section 142 (3) sentence 3 Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) applies to the form of certification of correctness and completeness.

    6. The interpreter or the translator must be separately obliged to secrecy and have their attention drawn in particular to the regulations governing tax secrecy as defined in Section 30 German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung - AO). Section 1 (2) and (3) of the German Act on the Formal Obligation of Persons with Non-Civil Servant Status (Gesetz über die förmliche Verpflichtung nichtbeamteter Personen - Verpflichtungsgesetz) of 2 March 1974 (federal gazette BGBl. I pp. 469, 547), as amended by Section 1, number 4. of the Act amending the Introductory Act of the German Criminal Code (Gesetz zur Änderung des Einführungsgesetzes zum Strafgesetzbuch - EGStGB) of 15 August 1974 (federal gazette BGBl. I p. 1942), applies mutatis mutandis in the relevant applicable version.

    7. A record must be prepared of the general authorisation by oath or general swearing of interpreters and authorisation of sworn translators and a deed handed over to the relevant language professional.

      8. The application for general authorisation by oath or appointment as interpreter or for authorisation as sworn translator must be accompanied by the necessary documents.

      The following documents in particular must be submitted:

      1. a curriculum vitae,

      2. a police clearance certificate/certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis) in accordance with Section 30 (5) Act on the Federal Central Register of Convictions (Bundeszentralregistergesetz – BZRG) which certificate may not have been issued more than six months previously,
      3. a declaration as to whether a penalty (Strafe) or restriction order (Maßregel der Besserung und Sicherung) has been imposed on the applicant within the last five years before making the application,
      4. a declaration as to whether insolvency proceedings have been instituted on the assets of the applicant and no discharge of residual debt (Restschuldbefreiung) has yet been granted or whether the applicant has been entered in the list of debtors (Schuldnerverzeichnis), and

      5. the documents required to verify the requisite specialist knowledge.

    8. Jurisdiction under Section 2 (1) Brandenburg Language Professionals Act (BbgSpMG):

      1. The President of the Regional Court (Landgericht) performs the tasks under the Court Interpreters Act (Gerichtsdolmetschergesetz) and under the Brandenburg Language Professionals Act (BbgSpMG).

      2. Having local jurisdiction is the President of the Regional Court (Landgericht) in whose district the interpreter or the translator has his or her place of residence or in the absence of such his or her professional establishment. For interpreters and translators who have no place of residence or professional establishment within the federal state of Brandenburg, the President of Potsdam Regional Court (Landgericht Potsdam) has jurisdiction. In the event of the place of residence or professional establishment being relocated within the federal state of Brandenburg, jurisdiction remains with the President of the Regional Court who undertook the general authorisation by oath or general swearing as interpreter or authorisation as sworn translator.

    9. Costs

      Costs shall be assessed for the swearing-in of interpreters and the authorization of translators pursuant to the Brandenburg Judicial Cost Code dated 3rd June 1994 (GVBl. I p. 172), most recently changed by Article 2 of the law dated 7th July 2009 (GVBl. I p. 252, 255), in their respective applicable versions.

    10. Legal Remedies

      Pursuant to §§ 68 ff. VwGO, an appeal may be filed against the rejection of the general swearing-in within one month after notification of said rejection, either in writing or to be recorded before the respective President of the Regional Court. Compliance with this deadline shall also be warranted by filing the appeal with the President of the Higher Regional Court of Brandenburg. If the respective President of the Regional Court does not provide any relief in this matter, the President of the Higher Regional Court of Brandenburg shall decide on said appeal.

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