Legal Translation of “charge” in French: accusation, frais ou sûreté ?

A complex false friend with multiple meanings across legal fields.

The word charge is a true semantic chameleon. In English, it spans very different notions—criminal, financial, commercial, and everyday. In legal translation, pinning down the precise context is essential.

⚖️ Criminal law: mise en examen, chef d’accusation, accusation
In a criminal or judicial context, charge most often refers to a formal accusation.
Examples:

• to charge someone → mettre quelqu’un en examen

• He was charged with resisting arrest → Il a été mis en examen pour résistance à une arrestation

• the charges against X → les accusations portées contre X

• finding on each charge → conclusion sur chaque chef d’accusation

💰 Finance: frais, facturation
In accounting or banking agreements, charge means a fee or cost.
Examples:

• bank charges → frais bancaires

• to charge a fee → facturer des honoraires

• free of charge → gratuitement

🏦 Security interests: charge réelle / sûreté
In the field of real security interests (e.g., mortgages), charge often denotes a security over property.

• charge on property → sûreté réelle / charge sur un bien

👤 Everyday usage: la personne responsable
In a non-technical register, the person in charge simply translates as:

• la personne responsable

✅ Summary

📌 TransLex’s Tip
Before translating charge, ask yourself two key questions:

1. What is the legal field of the text (criminal, banking, civil)?

2. Should charge be rendered in French as un acte d’accusation, une obligation financière (frais/coût), or une sûreté réelle?

Getting charge right depends on a precise grasp of the technical context.