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frappé d’aucune inaptitude physique à l’exercice de son activité

English translation: not physically incapable of performing his duties

11:32 Jan 23, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Medical - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / in an employment contract
French term or phrase: frappé d’aucune inaptitude physique à l’exercice de son activité
Hi,

I am translating an employment contract from French to British English. The tricky expression comes under the "Professional obligations" section. Below is the expression in the full sentence for context:

"Monsieur x déclare... n’être frappé d’aucune inaptitude physique à l’exercice de son activité."

Would "not physically unable to perform his duties" be a suitable translation here? Or is there a more legal way of expressing this? Thanks in advance for any help.
Matt Valentine
Norway
Local time: 17:39
English translation:not physically incapable of performing his duties
Explanation:
I think you are right in wanting to keep this simple.
"Inaptitude physique" can be translated as "physical incapacity" (cf. FHS Bridge, Council of Europe French-English Legal Dictionary) and using "physically incapable" would reflect this.
I don't think the concept becomes any clearer for being expressed at greater length.
Selected response from:

Sarah Brickwood
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:39
Grading comment
Thanks, Sarah!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +9not physically incapable of performing his duties
Sarah Brickwood
3 +5(hereby certifies) having no physical impairment...; ... that no physical impairment prevents him ..
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
4 +1[to be] physically capable of fully performing his/her duties
Daryo
3 +1...not being subject to any physical unfitness in the exercise of his duties
Gad Kohenov
3has no physical infirmity preventing him from carrying out his duties
David Hayes
4 -1that his fitness to do his job is not impaired by any physical disability
Francois Boye
4 -2not bound by any physical inability to carry out...
Andrew Bramhall


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
...not being subject to any physical unfitness in the exercise of his duties


Explanation:
My suggestion.

Gad Kohenov
Israel
Local time: 18:39
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in HebrewHebrew
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AllegroTrans
25 mins
  -> Thanks a lot!
neutral  writeaway: physically fit or physically unfit are usually used in a different context.
1 hr
  -> physical disability is possible
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
not bound by any physical inability to carry out...


Explanation:
"..declares himself unbound by any physical inability to carry out his functions...

Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: don't think the word 'bound' is appropriate here/then we agree to disagree. still feel it's a very dodgy choice
19 mins
  -> It works perfectly in my estimation
neutral  AllegroTrans: "bound" doesn't work with "physical disability"// "restricted" would be a good choice but not "bound"
25 mins
  -> If you are bound by something you are restricted by it;
disagree  philgoddard: Bound means "required", which is the very opposite of what the French says.
4 hrs
  -> "bound" means required"? say no more.
disagree  DLyons: "Bound" just doesn't work.
7 hrs
  -> well, if you say so;
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +9
not physically incapable of performing his duties


Explanation:
I think you are right in wanting to keep this simple.
"Inaptitude physique" can be translated as "physical incapacity" (cf. FHS Bridge, Council of Europe French-English Legal Dictionary) and using "physically incapable" would reflect this.
I don't think the concept becomes any clearer for being expressed at greater length.

Sarah Brickwood
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks, Sarah!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lucy Hill
2 mins
agree  writeaway: at least it sounds like English. imo there are a variety of ways to state this. don't fully understand what the problem is.
10 mins
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne
1 hr
agree  B D Finch
1 hr
agree  philgoddard
3 hrs
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
4 hrs
agree  DLyons
6 hrs
agree  AllegroTrans
6 hrs
agree  Michele Fauble
20 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
(hereby certifies) having no physical impairment...; ... that no physical impairment prevents him ..


Explanation:
Just another option among many.

Several nuances are possible, taking into account the rest of the sentence.
I think it is important to retain the negative overall as from a legal point of view, saying X has nothing which prevents him from being able to do something does not have the same implications as saying he is able to, even if he logial result is the same.

Suggestions:

- Mr X hereby certfies that he has no known physical condition which preovents him from carrying out....

- Mr X hereby certifies that there is no physical condition which...



Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 17:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 119

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: impairment would have been my word of choice. there as so many ways to state this idiomatically. as I said, I don't really understand the problem
9 mins
agree  Daryo: implying: impairment = being impaired in comparison with the level of fitness required for this job, not necessarily in the sense of having any kind of disabililty
12 mins
  -> Yes, "physical condition" here could be chronic or acute. The meaning is deliberately wide.
neutral  B D Finch: I think that is more restrictive than the source text. E.g. if the job involves heavy lifting, somebody not physically "impaired" might still be physically unable to perform it.
13 mins
  -> Valid point. A quesion of interpretation. An impairment may be acute though. Other suggestions with "condition" may be a better fit to the context.
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, this is the formal version which is more likely here
3 hrs
agree  Cinnamon Guignard: Agree- best formal language and correctly worded.
1 day 22 hrs
agree  Jennifer White
2 days 4 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
has no physical infirmity preventing him from carrying out his duties


Explanation:
One option (among others).

David Hayes
France
Local time: 17:39
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 6

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: nuances that are more than mere nuances - you don't have to have any "infirmity" to be unable to do some jobs - you can be perfectly healthy but still be totally "unfit" to be say a fireman, or a professional diver.//who said anything about any illness?
12 mins
  -> Your comment suggests that you think 'infirmity' means exactly the same thing as 'illness'. It is actually a broader concept: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/
agree  philgoddard: This is perfectly OK, though we've already had a couple of good answers.
1 hr
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
that his fitness to do his job is not impaired by any physical disability


Explanation:
Another translation

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 11:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 41

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: the ST is about being capable or not of doing some specific job - you can be free of any "physical disability" but still be totally unsuitable for many professions - how many perfectly healthy "Joe average" could be mountain guides?
4 days
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1 day 12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
[to be] physically capable of fully performing his/her duties


Explanation:
same meaning but less of a "brain-twister"
+
term in official use

see
https://www.google.com/search?q=physically capable of fully ...

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:39
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 105

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: Yes, I like the avoidance of too many negatives.
19 hrs
  -> KISS is a good principle ... Thanks!
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