<p>Courtroom translation plays a pivotal role in ensuring justice and fairness in multilingual legal settings. Translators in this context face unique challenges, and their translation choices can significantly impact the understanding of legal rights, and the credibility of testimonies. Previous research has investigated translation decisions but has often ignored important aspects of translators’ perceptions regarding these decisions in the translatorial action. This study presents an analysis of translators’ perceptions on factors influencing translation decisions in the translation of trail records of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) from English to Chinese. The discussion draws on semi-structured interviews which are thematically coded and qualitatively examined. The study shows that translators prioritized following the translation instructions provided by project initiators, which included ensuring accuracy and fidelity to the source text, maintaining the original meaning and stylistic elements, and accurately conveying historical events. In addition, the translation choices aligned with the overall purpose of the translation project, and interactions with stakeholders in the translatorial action including translators, specialist, and initiators were identified as crucial in ensuring the accuracy of translation. The findings of the study carry implications for the understanding of the decision-making processes in legal settings and offer insights for improving training programs for courtroom translators. Future research could be conducted to explore the perspectives of other courtroom stakeholders, such as judges, lawyers, and clients, on the quality and effectiveness of translations.</p>