“The section sign, also called a silcrow, is a typographic mark used to reference a particular section of a document. Its shape derives from a double ‘s’, which in Latin stands for signum sectionis (meaning ‘section symbol’).” (2024, Monotype)
Use in English: Some people believe there is a cumulative benefit in streamlining the term “section.” It is one character, not four (sec.) or seven (section), according to author Ken Adams “readers no longer have to focus on a full two words, “section 474,” when the attention should be on a single unit: § 474.”
Use in Spanish: The section symbol (§) is used for paragraphs, followed by a number, or series of numbers and letters e.g. § 12, § 32.2a (see “párrafo” definition in RAE Dictionary).
Explanation: Based on both definitions, a paragraph could be part of a section, but a section could not be part of a paragraph. In order to avoid any confusion with the law divisions, it is better to spell out the term “section” when translating.
Examples:
1. Standard Forms
Part of a segment: C.R.S. § 8-13.3-501 et seq…
Translation: la sección 8-13.3-501 y subsiguientes de los Estatutos Revisados de Colorado (Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S., por sus siglas en inglés))…
2. Oregon Youth Authority (OYA)
Part of a segment: 20 USC § 1232g…
Translation: la sección 1232g del título 20 del Código de los Estados Unidos (United States Code, USC, por sus siglas en inglés)…
*Please note that sometimes part of the reference is missing (the term “title” is omitted in example 2) in English since the clients shorten the wording, but in Spanish we must add the correct division for codes or any other legal document.