zola77 (X) (asker) May 30, 2013:

Wow, guys thank you for a very interesting discussion, I'm back to translating after a few days off and back to Rovnopis issue, the link http://www.lexforum.sk/370 explains a lot or is it better to say it rather doesn't!!? :) After a discussion with a friend, who happens to be a lawyer, I decided to go for "True Copy" (see the link http://www.lexforum.sk/370 "Rovnopis môže byť fotokópia, ale aj originál, je to vlastne len ďalší kus").
Thank you so much for your professional advice!

Stuart Hoskins May 26, 2013:

A true copy may be issued by any public official, including, often, a court clerk.
I don’t think duplicate would work – it is not standard usage. The Latvian Civil Procedure Law (translated by the Latvian Translation and Terminology Centre) uses “true copy”. I have also found “conformed copy”, but, again, it is not that common.
I wouldn’t be so fixed on the “kópia” aspect of “copy”. It can be either “exemplár” (even “original copy of the judgment”) or “odpis”, or a combination of the two. Based on all the examples from many jurisdictions that can be Googled, I don’t think we can get away from “copy” (with or without the “true” part). Indeed, even the dictionary definitions of “duplicate” and “counterpart” cannot avoid use of the word “copy”.

Vladimír Hoffman May 26, 2013:

2 Stuart But in Slovakia a court doesn't send a copy, but a version prepared together with an original. Copy (especially true copy) is a document prepared additionally. As true copy is a document certified by a notary public, we can hardly use it for a document certified by a court official on behalf of a judge.

Maybe we could use term duplicate.

Original = Prvopis
Duplicate = Rovnopis
True copy = Druhopis

Slavomir BELIS May 26, 2013:

On the other hand, I kind of acknowledge this:

“The Court will send a copy of the judgment to each side.”
“Rovnopis písomného vyhotovenia rozsudku sa doručuje účastníkom”

although there is still this question about it: Is this "copy" and this "rovnopis" and the process of issuing and signing it and all that the same? I do not know.

Slavomir BELIS May 26, 2013:

Well, on one hand, I am not a lawyer and I do not know now if “counterpart of a judgment” simply exists or not but this is what it says in Slovak. It says - rovnopis. And rovnopis is - jedna z 2 al. viacerých rovnako znejúcich listín. This is just a fact.

Also, what about if “counterpart of a judgment” doesn’t exist in some countries but does exist in other countries, for example in Slovakia?

Slavomir BELIS May 26, 2013:

To Stuart I did not mean to correct you in that - it does not matter if it is Czech or Slovak. I just quoted from KSSJ where it is stated that if "opis" is used in Slovak in this context, it is not correct and that the correct form is "odpis, kópia". So that is not important. What matters is that it is you who seems to be confusing "odpis" and "rovnopis", not Juro. The Slovak meanings of those terms are clear, see below.

Stuart Hoskins May 26, 2013:

I accept your very sound reasoning, Vladimir and Slavomir, but as far as I can see “counterpart of a judgment” simply doesn’t exist. Courts send a copy (let’s say “exemplár” rather than “kópia”) to the parties. Compare (one example of many:) “The Court will send a copy of the judgment to each side.” http://courts.yavapai.us/verdevalleyjc/collecting-your-judgm... with “Rovnopis písomného vyhotovenia rozsudku sa doručuje účastníkom” (§ 158 OSP). All in all, this is an interesting discussion.

Stuart Hoskins May 26, 2013:

To Slavomir Thanks for the correction. Sorry for letting Czech creep in.

Vladimír Hoffman May 26, 2013:

No, aby sme si nemysleli, ze to je jednoduche;-) (citaj, opat je v tom bordel):
http://www.lexforum.sk/370

Slavomir BELIS May 26, 2013:

To Stuart I do not think you are right in some comments addressed to Juro. See below, please, or in KSSJ.

opis - correctly - odpis - is - kópia

and

rovnopis - is - jedna z 2 al. viacerých rovnako znejúcich listín