* TRANSLATOR'S NOTE : Whilst every effort has been made to achieve a faithful translation of the Conventions and Recommendations, it should be remembered that the only authentic text is the French, this being the official language of the International Commission on Civil Status. A translator of these instruments is faced with a number of problems. Thus, "état civil" has generally been rendered as "civil status", the term which is current in international terminology, even though there is no exact equivalent in the internal law of all common-law countries. Alternatively, "civil registration" is used when "état civil" refers to the registration system as such. Again, the more general title "civil registrar" has been used for "officier de l'état civil", rather than ones that might be more familiar, such as "Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths". The word "acte" is more difficult since, as is explained in the Explanatory Reports to Conventions Nos. 14 and 17, its meaning varies from State to State, denoting either the original entry in the registers or, alternatively, a copy of or even an extract from the original. Whilst "certificate" might be an appropriate translation in many cases, the word "record" has, save where the context otherwise requires, been retained as a more general term covering all the foregoing possibilities. The forms and models appended to certain Conventions and Recommendations (other than Recommendations Nos. 5 and 7) have not been translated, neither have declarations by Contracting States regarding the territorial scope of a Convention or the designation of competent authorities. To read these items, click on the French title of the Convention/Recommendation.