Translation glossary
What this page is — pinned translations for legal terms, given to the AI as binding term mappings whenever an executed document is legally translated.
What it is for — so "indemnity" becomes the same approved legal term in Hindi every time, instead of whichever synonym the model found natural that day.
The problem it solves — the same legal term is translated differently in each document — exactly the inconsistency a court will notice.
Route: /org/settings?tab=papers → Glossary · Permissions: the organisation Papers settings
permission for organisation terms; Manage the project's legal-translation glossary overrides (requires open glossary lock). for project terms while the
glossary lock is open.
1. What it is
A glossary entry pins one term for one language:
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Source term | Force Majeure |
| Target term | अप्रत्याशित घटना |
| Target language | Hindi |
| Jurisdiction | IN — stored for reference, not used to filter |
| Notes | Approved by external counsel, 12 Oct 2025 |
| Active | On |
Which translations use it:
| Tool | Uses the glossary |
|---|---|
| Legal translation — Drafting AI, or auto-translation on finalize | Yes |
| Translate — quick passage translation in the Drafting AI drawer | No |
How it is applied. The effective terms are passed to the model as binding mappings. It is not a find-and-replace: the model is instructed to use your terms, and the result lists the terms it applied and any it could not translate safely, for counsel to review. The original document stays authoritative.
2. Why you would use it
- One legal term, one translation. A synonym for "indemnity" can change liability; pinning removes the choice.
- Counsel's approval is recorded. Notes carry who approved a term and when.
- Clients with their own terminology get it. A project can keep its own terms for a language.
- Untranslatable terms are flagged, not invented. The translation reports what it could not safely render.
3. Step by step
- + Term.
- Enter Source term, Target term and Target language.
- Optionally Jurisdiction and Notes.
- Choose Applies to — organisation, or a project with an open glossary lock.
- Save. Toggle to pause a term.
4. Field reference
| Field | Required | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Source term | Yes | As it appears in the source documents |
| Target term | Yes | The approved rendering |
| Target language | Yes | Matched case-insensitively to the language requested — but spelled the same: Hindi matches hindi, not hi |
| Jurisdiction | No | Informational |
| Notes | No | — |
| Active | — | Inactive terms are ignored |
Refusal: source_term, target_term and target_language are required.
Which terms a translation uses
| Situation | Terms applied |
|---|---|
| Glossary lock closed | The organisation's active terms for that language |
| Lock open and the project has at least one active term for that language | Only the project's for that language |
| Lock open, project has none for that language | The organisation's |
5. Writing entries that hold up
A glossary is only as good as the terms chosen for it. The ones worth pinning share a property: a synonym would change what the clause means.
| Pin | Examples | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Terms of art | Indemnity, consideration, severability, force majeure, limitation of liability | A general-language synonym can alter liability |
| Defined terms | "Confidential Information", "Deliverables", "Effective Date" | Must read identically wherever they appear |
| Names that must not be translated | Entity names, product names, statute titles | Enter the same text as source and target — the term is then kept as written |
| Terms counsel has already argued over | Anything with a note from external counsel | The decision should not be re-made by a model |
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| One row per language | A term used in Hindi and Marathi translations needs two entries |
| Write the source term as your templates write it | Including the capitalisation of defined terms |
| Record the approval in Notes | Who approved, when, on whose advice — the audit trail for a term |
| Spell the language the way translations request it | Hindi, not hi — matching ignores case, not spelling |
| Read the untranslatable list after every translation | Terms that recur there are the next glossary entries |
Organisation or project terms
| Need | Put the terms in |
|---|---|
| Your standard legal vocabulary | The organisation glossary |
| A client that insists on its own terminology | That client's project, with its glossary lock open |
| Most of the organisation's terms plus a few changes, for one project | The project — but copy the organisation's terms for that language first, because project terms replace the organisation set for that language rather than adding to it |
6. Worked example
A legal team issues Hindi translations of executed supply agreements.
| Source | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indemnity | क्षतिपूर्ति | External counsel, Oct 2025 |
| Force Majeure | अप्रत्याशित घटना | External counsel, Oct 2025 |
| Limitation of liability | दायित्व की सीमा | In-house, Jan 2026 |
The Supply Agreement type's Auto-translation language is set to Hindi. When an agreement is
finalized, the legal translation runs with all three terms as binding mappings. The result lists
glossary_terms_applied: [Indemnity, Force Majeure, Limitation of liability] and one untranslatable term —
the defined term "Deliverables" — for counsel.
A term added with language hi by a new team member is never applied: the type asks for Hindi. They
correct the language.
7. The admin contract
| Must be true | Where | What breaks without it |
|---|---|---|
| The language is spelled as translations request it | This screen; the type's Auto-translation language | Terms are never applied |
| Legal translation runs | Drafting AI, or auto-translation on the type | The glossary is never used |
| The document is sealed | Finalize | Legal translation refuses: it needs a sealed copy |
| Project term sets are complete | Project hub | A project silently loses the organisation's terms for that language |
8. Downstream
| When you… | Then |
|---|---|
| Add or change a term | The next legal translation uses it; existing translations are unchanged |
| Pause or delete a term | Future translations no longer pin it |
| Add a project term | That project's translations into that language stop using the organisation set |
9. Don't confuse this with…
| Translate (Drafting AI) | Quick passage translation. Ignores the glossary |
| Behaviour settings | Where a type's auto-translation language is set |
| Clause library | Approved source wording, not translations |
10. Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| A term was not applied | Language spelled differently, the term is inactive, or the quick Translate tool was used |
| A project's translation ignores organisation terms | The project has its own terms for that language |
| Jurisdiction had no effect | It is informational only |
| Legal translation refused | The document has no sealed copy |