Category: Uncategorized

Feminine noun. It is the set of rights, powers and duties that parents have over their non-emancipated children. The lexical phrase is ejercer/ejercicio de la patria potestad. E.g.: La propuesta del ponente es que los nombres de aquellos que tengan la patria potestad deben aparecer impresos en el pasaporte del niño: The rapporteur’s proposal is that the names of those with parental responsibility should be printed in the child’s passport. dc

Masculine noun. This is a word just used in business and accounting and it refers to the amount of a price, credit, debt or balance. It always expresses a number and we use it in the lexical phrase importe a pagar (amount due) at a the end of an invoice or receipt. E.g.: En algunos casos, podemos suprimir por completo el importe de la factura hospitalaria para pacientes calificados: In some cases, we can completely waive the cost of hospital bills for qualifying patients.
Both verbs, importarle a uno: to matter, and importar: to import, are not related to the noun el importe but to la importancia and la importación respectively. dc

Feminine noun. Legal institution by which a person, tutor (guardian), is entrusted with the representation of minor children without parents or those legally unable to exercise their rights. E.g.: La tutela sobre los menores se rige por los principios universales consagrados por el Código Civil: Guardianship of minors is regulated by the universal principles enshrined in the Civil Code.
The verb is tutelar. dc

Feminine noun. In Spanish related to Civil and Commercial Law, rebeldía is the situation in which a litigant (plaintiff or defendant) does not appear or does not present their arguments and/or refrains from complying with the acts of the procedure. E.g.: En caso de que el demandante no comparezca ante el tribunal, o bien no consienta su defensa, se le podrá declarar en rebeldía: If the defendant does not appear a judgment by default can be rendered against him.
In Spanish related to Criminal Law rebeldía is a legal situation, produced by the disappearance of the accused, that produces certain effects such as the suspension of the course of the proceedings once the summary phase is finished, until the accused is present. E.g.: Los seis acusados restantes están siendo juzgados en rebeldía: The remaining six defendants are being tried in absentia. Some legal systems, such as in Argentina, do not accept the conviction in rebeldía. The person is called rebelde.
By the way, rebeldía means also rebelliousness. dc

Masculine and feminine noun. In Legal Spanish, a reo is the defendant in a civil or (especially) a criminal trial. The feminine form is rea. E.g.: El fiscal, en el término de 24 horas, pondrá al reo a disposición del tribunal en el territorio en el que fue arrestado, junto con la documentación correspondiente: Within twenty four hours the prosecutor makes the arrested person available to the court in the territory of which the arrest has been performed, sending also the respective documentation.
Reo/a is also and adjective and it can mean indistinctly suspect and guilty. dc

Feminine noun. In business Spanish diligencia is the processing of an administrative matter, and written proof of having done it. E.g.: Esta diligencia no figuraba en el expediente del sumario: No such protocol was in the case file. In this case the verb is diligenciar. E.g.: No hay documentación que diligenciar: No paper work to complete.
Diligencia can also mean diligence, care. E.g.: Actuar con la misma cautela, diligencia y pericia que una persona de prudencia razonable en circunstancias similares: Exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.
By the way, a diligencia is also a stagecoach. dc

Feminine noun. Also called insolvencia and suspención de pagos, it happens when a person, a company or a state cannot pay all the debts they have with their creditors due to lack of liquidity or cash. This situation unchains a procedure that aims to reach an agreement between the debtor and the creditors, under judicial supervision, on the way in which it will be paid. E.g.: A mediados de la semana bursátil, surgieron preocupaciones por una posible cesación de pagos, lo que detuvo a los operadores y arrastró el capital a las inversiones seguras: Default concerns hit the financial markets half way through the trading week, which put traders and their heels and pushed capital into safe haven investments. dc

Feminine noun. In Business Spanish a bolsa is a facility where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds, and other financial instruments. E.g.: Los inversores vendieron las acciones en la bolsa: Investors traded the shares on the stock exchange.
We have a lexical combination here: cotizar en bolsa. E.g.: Las acciones de YPF cotizan en la bolsa de Buenos Aires: YPF shares are listed on the Buenos Aires stock exchange. If we want to express the moment the company is listed for the first time, the expression we use is salir a bolsa or, curiously, entrar en bolsa.
The word bolsa has its origin in a place where trade meetings were held back in the 13th and 14th centuries, the ‘Huis ter Buërse’, belonged to a Flemish family from Bruges, surnamed Van Der Buërse. The coat of arms of this family displayed three leather bags (bolsas), the purses of the time. dc