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18:40 May 9, 2011
Danish to English translations [PRO] Law/Patents - Law: Contract(s)
Danish term or phrase:ubillig
I have a very specific context in mind here. It is a judgment which reads in part: "Der er ikke fastsat nogen begrænsning i adgangen til at regulere, hvilket i overensstemmelse med princippet i købelovens § 5 giver XXX en frihed til at regulere, når reguleringerne ikke kan anses for ubillige."
The choices offered up by Gyldendals Røde Ordbøger are:
(uretfærdig)
unfair
unjust
inequitable
(urimelig)
unreasonable
(ublu)
unconscionable
Now, in American law some of these have very different meanings from each other. I'd like to have an expert recommendation for the right one here, so that I don't have to undertake a crash course in Danish case law on commercial disputes this afternoon.
Explanation: This is not an "expert recommendation" but just a quick reply that might help you.
I don't know which suggestion would be most appropriate with reference to American law, but in an unofficial translation of the relevant Act, which is made by a professor in legal translation at ASB, the term "unfair" has been used as the translation of "ubillig" in this section.
According to Juridisk Ordbog: billighed: betegnelse for, at en retsafgørelse ikke er truffet efter streng ret, dvs. efter en fast norm med bestemt angivne betingelser, men efter et friere skøn over omstændighederne i det individuelle tilfælde. Undertiden henviser loven self til at træffe afgørelsen efter billighed, således f. eks. ...
...
I øvrigt vil den frihed, der antages at tilkomme domstolene ved lovens fortolkning og anvendelse, være bestemmende for, i hvor vidt og i hvilket omfang der kan tages hensyn til billighed.
If billighed = ikke ubillig, then as I see it, it means something like fair or reasonable.
The references imply situations where the solutions may be fair and satisfactory to the parties, but difficult or impossible to evaluate in terms of money or other objective criteria.
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Answers
20 mins confidence:
unjust
Explanation: US - when it pertains to governing/law, the word you are looking is probably unjust. -
Ref.Juridisk Ordbog.
Suzanne Blangsted Local time: 23:34 Native speaker of: Danish, English PRO pts in category: 61
Notes to answerer
Asker: Sorry, but in the U.S. context, "unjust" would probably be the least likely to be used by a court in this specific instance, IMO.
Explanation: This is not an "expert recommendation" but just a quick reply that might help you.
I don't know which suggestion would be most appropriate with reference to American law, but in an unofficial translation of the relevant Act, which is made by a professor in legal translation at ASB, the term "unfair" has been used as the translation of "ubillig" in this section.
Example sentence(s):
If a contract has been concluded without making provision for the price, the buyer shall pay the price charged by the seller provided such price is not considered unfair.
Mette Melchior Local time: 07:34 Native speaker of: Danish PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much for this, Mette! It is helpful for both the present question and for other questions involved in this project.
Asker: Thanks again, Mette. I've used your suggestion. I'll be looking closely at that English translation for insights generally into translating Danish commercial law. Points will be awarded when feasible on ProZ.
Explanation: I'm surprised this term features in a DA/EN dictionary at all cf. unsittlich = 'immoral' or contra bones mores in DE.
The only question for me is whether regulations - rather than a transaction, practice or conduct - say in the US, can be branded unconscionable in 'equity'. So see the example sentence.
Example sentence(s):
unconscionable regulations whose only purpose was to shield powerful drug makers from damages were also reversed.
The translation workplace 
