KudoZ home » Dutch to English » Business/Commerce (general)

de wet bovengaan

English translation: does not replace the law [<-- if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required]; [otherwise: does not supersede the law]

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs
(or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Dutch term or phrase:	gaat/staat niet boven de wet
English translation:	does not replace the law [<-- if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required]; [otherwise: does not supersede the law]
Entered by:	Ton Remkes

Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

22:57 Sep 20, 2004

Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Business/Commerce (general) / employee's manual

Dutch term or phrase: de wet bovengaan

"Dit handboek geeft de situatie voor [bedrijf] aan en gaat altijd voor de algemeen geldende gedragsregels. Echter het handboek *gaat niet boven de wet*."

The proper collocation for this is expression on the tip of my tongue, but I've ground to a halt with just 'transcend the law' or 'supersede the law'. The register, by the way, should not be too high to ensure accessibility to non-native speakers of English; the variant is UK English. Looking forward to your response. Cheers, Rob.

Robert Kleemaier KudoZ activity Questions: 657 (none open) (41 closed without grading) Answers: 168
Local time: 03:26

does not replace the law

Explanation:
This seems the clearest and nearest rendering of the original text if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required.
Otherwise I'd certainly prefer your own suggestion: 'supersede'!

"However, the manual/guide/reference book *does not replace/supersede* the law."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr 24 mins (2004-09-22 00:22:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Helaas nauwelijks aandeelhouder, maar toch:

Sense and simplicity.

Na ruggespraak met een van de meest ervaren \'proofreaders/revisors\' in ons team:
Deze oorspronkelijke uitdrukking \"Het handboek *gaat niet boven de wet*\" is niet alleen taalkundig, maar ook wat duidelijkheid betreft, hoogst twijfelachtig.
Immers in Nederlands, is de standaard uidrukking: \'boven de wet staan\'.
\'Gaat\' is een verwarrende, dus eigenlijk foutieve, variatie.
Ook in \'accepted\' NL is deze uitdrukking alleen toepasselijk op personen.

Selected response from:

Ton Remkes
Local time: 12:26

Grading comment

I have decided to grant Ton the points, though I must say that Chris H.'s answer would have won the day were it not for the fact that I had used this expression in the previous sentence (*gulp*, sorry, Chris, for my oversight re vital background info). To both of you my gratitude for your assistance. Cheers, Rob.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +2

above the law

René Knoop

4 +2

does not replace the law

Ton Remkes

4 +2

the law takes precedence

Chris Hopley

outrange the law

shineda

be above the law

Miriam Linschoten, PhD

Answers

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

above the law

Explanation:
No comment necessary

René Knoop
Local time: 12:26
Native speaker of:

Dutch

Grading comment

for reasons explained by Chris

The asker has declined this answer
Comment: for reasons explained by Chris

12 mins confidence:

be above the law

Explanation:
boven de wet staan: be above the law (van Dale)

Maar staan en gaan is misschien niet hetzelfde.

Miriam Linschoten, PhD
Local time: 04:26
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Dutch

Grading comment

idem ditto

The asker has declined this answer
Comment: idem ditto

10 hrs confidence:

outrange the law

Explanation:
..this could work in this context

shineda
Netherlands
Local time: 12:26
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Dutch
PRO pts in category: 4

8 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

de wet niet bovengaan the law takes precedence

Explanation:
How about turning it around: the law always takes precedence, the law always comes first, etc.

-> "Domestic Law Takes Precedence Over the New York Convention in New York (But Not in Oregon)"
http://www.millernash.com/showarticles.asp?Show=250

-> "What takes precedence: HIPAA or state law? In most cases, state laws will not be preempted by HIPAA."
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan03/hipaa.html

-> "EU Law and British Tax. Which comes first?"
www.cps.org.uk/craig.pdf

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs 14 mins (2004-09-21 09:11:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Further to Jarry\'s remark, my day-to-day rule of thumb is that any word or expression that is listed by the Oxford Advances Learner\'s dictionary is acceptable. My assumption is also that even if the (2nd/3rd language) reader doesn\'t know what a word means, they will have the ability and resources to look it up.

Chris Hopley
Netherlands
Local time: 12:26
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 87

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Mirjam Bonne-Nollen

1 hr

agree

xxxjarry: The best answer, but will people with English as a second/third language understand?

1 hr

-> A problem I face regularly (translating for the developing world), but impossible to answer, as different people have different abilities. There comes a point where you have to assume a reasonable level of proficiency, otherwise you're lost.

agree

xxxFullCircle

1 hr

disagree

Ton Remkes: In legalese this may perhaps be the best answer. As "accesssibility to non-native speakers" is - in accordance with asker's explanations - desirable, this answer can hardly be considered as the most helpful solution.

15 hrs

-> You will find this expression in many non-legalese texts; in fact, it's perfectly ordinary English and widely used in "accessible" journalism, for example, http://tinyurl.com/6s68s and http://tinyurl.com/5dpje etc., etc.

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

gaat niet boven de wet

does not replace the law

Ton Remkes
Local time: 12:26
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Dutch
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

Overview

Latest translation questions

Ask a translation question

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

de wet bovengaan

English translation: does not replace the law [<-- if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required]; [otherwise: does not supersede the law]

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

de wet bovengaan

English translation: does not replace the law [<-- if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required]; [otherwise: does not supersede the law]

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.