Charles Davis Jan 10, 2018:

Thanks for the suggestion, Ruth. Sorry to be a bit slow to respond.

Ruth Ramsey (asker) Jan 9, 2018:

Many thanks for your comments, Charles. I also came to the conclusion that "Juez encargada" and "Encargada" were one and the same title and I decided to use "Registar" as you have suggested. If you would like to post your comment as an answer, please go ahead.

Charles Davis Jan 9, 2018:

III As for Secretario, I see no reason not to call this position "Secretary". In the old days it may have been the secretario judicial of the local court of first instance, but "court clerk" would not be suitable for this person in his/her capacity as an official of the civil registry. And I wouldn't use the word "judge" either, for similar reasons: as head of the local civil registry, this Juez was not acting in a judicial capacity but as an administrative official.

This point is made in a 1960 paper on the figure of the "encargado" under the 1957 law, which is useful if you want to go into this in detail:

"Aun cuando pertenece al orden, judicial, en cuanto a funciones del Registro Civil, tiene atribución de funcionario administrativo y carece en cierta manera de la clásica independencia y responsabilidad judicial"
http://www.mjusticia.gob.es/cs/Satellite/Portal/129234404101...

Finally, among the previous questions on these terms I recommend the following:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/law_general/51...

Charles Davis Jan 9, 2018:

II The Encargado is now appointed by the Ministry of Justice through the Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado, and is not a judge. The word "juez" does not appear in the 2011 law.

"1. En cada Comunidad Autónoma o ciudad con Estatuto de Autonomía se ubicará al menos una Oficina General del Registro Civil. El Ministerio de Justicia y las Comunidades Autónomas con competencias ejecutivas en la materia podrán crear en sus respectivos ámbitos territoriales, además, una Oficina General del Registro Civil por cada 500.000 habitantes. [...]
2. Al frente de cada Oficina General del Registro Civil estará un Encargado del Registro Civil, que ejercerá sus funciones bajo la dependencia de la Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado. Excepcionalmente y por necesidades del servicio, se podrá designar más de un Encargado.
3. Corresponderá al Ministerio de Justicia y a las Comunidades Autónomas con competencias ejecutivas en la materia designar a los Encargados de las Oficinas Generales del Registro Civil en sus respectivos ámbitos territoriales" (2011, Art. 22).

So the designation "Juez encargado" has been out of date since 2011. But I imagine your documents are earlier.

Charles Davis Jan 9, 2018:

@Ruth "Juez encargada" and "Encargada" are the same thing: the same position. "Encargado/a" is the head of a civil registry. Personally I think you can call this person the Registrar.

The system in Spain was changed pretty radically in 2011, with the new law which is now in force, Ley 20/2011, de 21 de julio, del Registro Civil. Prior to that it was governed by the previous law, Ley de 8 de junio de 1957, del Registro Civil.

1957: http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Privado/lrc.t2.html...
2011: http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Vacatio/l20-2011.t3...

Before 2011 there were Registros Municipales, and their "encargado" was a local judge:

"los Registros Municipales, a cargo del Juez municipal o comarcal, asistido del Secretario" (1957, Art. 10)

So this person could be referred to either as the "Juez encargado" or just as the "Encargado".

Since 2011, these Registros Municipales have been replaced by Oficinas Generales del Registro Civil. There is at least one in every autonomous community and normally several, at a rate of one for every 500,000 people.

(Continued in next post)

philgoddard Jan 8, 2018:

We've had lots of previous questions about both terms, so I'm not going to post an answer, but I don't think "juez encargada" is the same person as "encargada".