Foreign legislation
Original research draft · October 2026
Working pattern
[Jurisdiction], [Instrument title/number], [division] ([version/date]).
Capture from the source
Jurisdiction; enactment; official publication; language; version
Check before you use it
Read the official version and identify any translation used.
Common error: An unofficial translation may omit amendments or reflect a different version.
Completed example
Jurisdiction, instrument, article, language versions, and amendment are fictional. No actual foreign enactment, translation rule, or legal practice is asserted.
Alder Republic, Public Register Instrument No. TRAIN-AR-2024-8, art. 12(3) (official consolidated text Oct. 1, 2025) [TRAIN-I87].
Read the supplied source facts
Fictional packet TRAIN-I87 contains Alder Republic's Public Register Instrument, numbered TRAIN-AR-2024-8, in an official consolidated edition dated October 1, 2025. Article 12(3) contains the assigned provision. The source's version note lists a June 2025 amendment. An unofficial English translation dated December 2024 predates that amendment and uses a different subdivision arrangement. The assignment asks for a citation identifying the amended official text, while an accompanying working translation is used only to assist reading. The packet identifies the issuing body and original-language title but does not claim the unofficial translation is authoritative.
Why this works
The jurisdiction, instrument number, subdivision, and version identify the official text rather than the older translation. Preserve the original title in the source record and explain any translated title used for readers. Compare the amendment and consolidation notes before assuming that two language versions contain the same law. The citation's year within the instrument number identifies the original enactment; the consolidation date identifies the version consulted. Those functions should remain distinct. If the legal analysis turns on a contested term, obtain appropriate language assistance and document the translation used instead of treating a convenient online rendering as the official text.
When the facts change
For a historical event before the amendment, retrieve the relevant earlier official version and examine temporal terms. If quoting the December translation as an object of comparison, identify its translator, date, and unofficial status. Do not cite the 2025 official consolidation while silently quoting wording available only in the older translation. A version mismatch can persist even when the section heading appears unchanged.
Apply the receiving court or publication’s requirements. These working forms do not establish citation permission, precedential weight, or support for a legal proposition.