Int J Semiot Law (2021) 34:1401–1416

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-020-09806-6

How Vague is the Third Space for Legal Professions

in the European Union?

Halina Sierocka1

Accepted: 5 December 2020 / Published online: 3 January 2021

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
Legal concepts and notions are deeply affected by religions, ethics, philosophy and
the culture of a particular nation. As Friedman (in: Nelken (ed) Comparing legal
cultures, Dartmouth, Aldershot, 1997, p. 34) highlights, understanding legal culture
(i.e. expectations, attitudes, values and ideas towards law and legal institutions) is a
crucial factor as it both affects their translation and interpretation and consequently
has an impact on the application of law. This increases in importance, for example,
in the context of the principle of mutual trust and recognition of judgments assumed
by the European Union as the cornerstone of judicial co-operation in the European
Union, which would not be possible without the trust in each other’s justice system
and the respect for the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States.
In that vein, ‘the Third Space’ (i.e. the legal translation process), where legal con-
cepts and notions of multiple origins meet and where their meanings are negotiated,
transformed, translated and integrated into various socio-political and cultural con-
texts has acquired an immense significance. Although there may be natural similari-
ties between legal professions in the European Union, they could differ quite sub-
stantially as they are deeply rooted in the history and societal evolution of a country;
therefore, they are generally regulated at a national, not a European level. In light
of the above, the author intends to perform an in-depth analysis of key terminology
in the field of names of legal professions which exist in the Member States of the
European Union. The author focuses on the terms which refer to the legal profession
of lawyers as they might pose obstacles in translation and interpretation due to dif-
ferent functions and roles these legal professionals play in their legal systems or due
to the lack of their equivalents in other legal systems. The terminology is compared
to present similarities and differences in their meaning, particularly putting some
emphasis on socio-political and cultural contexts. The research methods encompass
the analysis of relevant literature and the terminological analysis of the research
material, which includes the information on legal professions provided by particular
Member States on the European e-Justice portal and relevant national regulations
in that respect. Finally, the author draws the conclusion that a thorough analysis of
the functions and roles of a particular legal profession in socio-political and cultural

Extended author information available on the last page of the article

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Vol.:(0123456789)
1402 H. Sierocka

contexts is required before the translation and interpretation of the term is provided
as it helps to avoid ambiguity and makes legal communication precise.

Keywords Culture · Legal interpretation · Legal profession · Legal terminology ·

Legal translation

1 Introduction

The impact the culture, or, more specifically, legal culture (i.e. expectations, atti-
tudes or ideas people have towards the law and legal institutions) has on the way
legal texts are translated, construed and then applied cannot be underestimated [6,
10, 36, 38, 41, 44]. Legal notions and concepts are deeply rooted in culture, history,
philosophy, ethics as well as the religions of a particular nation, which poses huge
obstacles for translators and interpreters. They, as Medrea and Caraiman [36] point-
edly remarked, have to not only translate words but also the legal systems in order
to create a set of parallel texts whose legal effect is the same in terms of author-
ity, function and legal status both in the source and target language. Translation and
interpretation of particular phrases or concepts in multilingual societies or societies
with diversified cultural backgrounds and history, as was highlighted by Sierocka
[46], may be a thorny dilemma as some notions or institutions, which exist in the
source culture, might not be present in the target culture. Therefore, the Third Space
(i.e. legal translation process) might be of profound significance here.
The concept of the Third Space was first introduced by Bhabha [4] to address
questions of identity and belonging through language. He claims that by creating
more flexible space outside the rigid binary cultural structures “we will find the
words which can speak of Ourselves and the Others” [5, p. 209]. In that light, as
many scholars [37, 45, 51, 52] point out, the concept of “the Third Space” can also
be applied to other areas of linguistic and cultural interaction and transfer: the pro-
cess of translation (particularly of legal translation) being one such area.
A legal translator’s task is convoluted as s/he has to use a legal text in one lan-
guage to produce an equivalent legal text in another language in such a way that
a reader will come to the same conclusion regardless of the language used [2]. As
previously mentioned, the translation of a legal text should produce the same effects
in the target legal system as it is does in the source legal system [33, 44]. To do so
legal translators need not only to understand the legal concepts in both legal cul-
tures involved, but they also have to be able to engage in “culture mediation” [49]
to solve the problems arising from imperfect or partial equivalence between the two
legal systems [7, p. 42] or/and the two legal cultures. Therefore, the Third Space, the
space where the meanings of legal concepts and notions of multiple origins could
be negotiated, changed, translated and integrated into different socio-political and
cultural contexts, appears to be indispensable here.
However, it is crucial to highlight that the Third Space itself might be quite
vague, imprecise and undefined, which is best pictured by the broad range of names
of legal professions within the various legal and judicial systems of EU member

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states. Legal professionals do not hold the same title; they do not have the same sta-
tus or play the same roles and functions in all member states. Interestingly enough,
conditions for practicing legal professions are not stipulated by European laws but by
national laws, which best proves that the EU legislator was/is aware that the notions
may differ quite substantially due to various socio-political and cultural backgrounds
which exist in particular countries.

2 Research Aim and Methods

The paper aims to provide an analysis of key terminology in the field of names of
legal professions present in European Union member states. The author focuses on
the legal profession of lawyers (described by some systems as advocates, attorneys-
at-law, solicitors, legal advisers, magistrates or barristers) as these terms mostly pose
problems in translation and interpretation due to the various functions and roles that
these legal professionals play in their legal settings or due to the lack of their equiva-
lents in other legal systems. The terminology is compared to present similarities and
differences in their meaning, particularly putting some emphasis on socio-political
and cultural contexts.
The research methods encompass the analysis of relevant literature and the termi-
nological analysis of the research material, which includes the information on legal
professions provided by particular Member States on the European e-Justice por-
tal and relevant national regulations in that respect. The terminological analysis of
the research materials mainly includes collecting the data available on the respec-
tive websites and analysing the relevant literature in that context. In addition, the
research methods encompass the analysis of comparable texts as well as the concept
of adjusting the term to the communicative needs and requirements of the target
audience [30, 34, 44].
Although the United Kingdom (England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland)
is in transition to withdraw from the European Union, it is included in the research/
analysis since many European Union states exploit the names of legal professions in
the UK as a point of reference or a model to provide the equivalents of legal profes-
sions existing in their national settings.

3 Research Results

The legal professions briefly enumerated on the e-Justice portal [27] include judges,
public prosecutors, court staff, bailiffs (judicial officers), lawyers and notaries. Some
of the names have their functional equivalents in all of the countries, others might
vary significantly in terms of their roles, tasks performed and powers from one
member state to another. It is also worth highlighting that some of them are rather
vague in the description of their functions, and apparently the term, lawyer, is one of
the most imprecise ones as many countries also use other terms instead of or in addi-
tion to the term ‘lawyer’ i.e. attorney-at-law, attorney, advocate, barrister, solicitor
or legal advisor. The idea behind that was most probably to provide the best possible

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1404 H. Sierocka

equivalent that would express the appropriate meaning and usage in the socio-politi-
cal and cultural settings of a particular nation.

3.1 Definitions

Before we examine the concepts provided by particular EU countries, it is worth

taking a closer look at the meanings of the terms of this legal profession i.e. law-
yer, barrister, solicitor, attorney-at-law, attorney, advocate, legal advisor and legal
counsel.

3.1.1 Lawyer

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a lawyer is a person “trained and

licensed to prepare, manage, and either prosecute or defend a court action as an
agent for another and who also gives advice on legal matters that may or may not
require court action” [13]. A similar definition is provided by Collins COBUILD
English Usage Dictionary which describes this term as a person who is qualified to
advise people about the law and represent them in court [9]. The definitions appear
to be clear, but they still might introduce some vagueness if we translate the term
into other languages. For example, a direct translation of the word lawyer into Pol-
ish may result in an incorrect translation hence an inappropriate interpretation of
the notion. The Polish equivalent of the notion lawyer is prawnik, which means any
person who possesses a law degree. It is an umbrella term which may include all
legal professions in Poland like judges, notaries, bailiffs or prosecutors but does not
necessarily denote a person who has a licence to prosecute or defend a court action.
Interestingly, even if we refer to the definition of lawyer provided on e-Justice por-
tal, it is rather vague and broad, focusing on a lawyer’s duties and the roles the law-
yer plays rather than who s/he is:
The lawyer’s role, whether retained by an individual, a corporation or the state, is
as the client’s trusted adviser and representative, as a professional respected by third
parties, and as an indispensable participant in the fair administration of justice. By
embodying all these elements, the lawyer, who faithfully serves his or her own cli-
ent’s interests and protects the client’s rights, also fulfils the functions of the lawyer
in society—which are to forestall and prevent conflicts, to ensure that conflicts are
resolved in accordance with recognised principles of civil, public or criminal law
and with due account of rights and interests, to further the development of the law,
and to defend liberty, justice and the rule of law [27].

3.1.2 Barrister Versus Solicitor

A barrister is one of the two types of practicing lawyers in England and Wales
who mainly engages in advocacy (trial work) that is pleads cases before the court.
A solicitor, being the other type, carries out most of the legal office work, meets
clients and conducts negotiations, gives legal advice and drafts documents. S/he
has the right to act in all courts as the agent for litigations but may only plead

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How Vague is the Third Space for Legal Professions in the European… 1405

cases in the lower courts. Nevertheless, their functions may overlap to some
extent as barristers may also draft documents and give opinions. However, only
barristers may appear as advocates before the High Court.

3.1.3 Advocate

Another term used, i.e. advocate, which means “one whose profession is to plead
cases in a court of justice”, [40] is a technical term which is derived from Roman
law. In Latin advocatus means “one called to aid (another); a pleader (on one’s
behalf).” In France avocats were formerly an organized body of pleaders, whereas
cases were prepared by avoués. These days, this distinction still exists before the
appellate courts. In Germany, on the other hand, the term Advokat referred rather
to the adviser than the pleader, but today there is no distinction between counsel-
lor (adviser) and pleader. In Scotland, the term is still used, and “refers particu-
larly to a member of the bar of Scotland” i.e. the Faculty of Advocates [12].

3.1.4 Attorney (Attorney‑at‑Law)

The notion attorney or attorney-at-law, on the other hand, is mainly used in the
United States of America to describe a lawyer qualified to represent a party to a
legal action in court or a person who has the legal power to act for another person.
In the European context, however, it is considered rather an obsolete term which
has its origins in England after the Norman Conquest. The ‘attorneys’ authorized
by legislation, at the beginning, shared the life of the Inns of Court (a specialized
legal society, where through apprenticeship and lectures its members could acquire
admission to practice before the royal courts) with ‘apprentices’ in advocacy who in
time became barristers. Over time (in the seventeenth century), however, the divi-
sion between the terms advocate and attorney became rigid and in the nineteenth
century all of the non-barristers were brought under one name, solicitor [14].

3.1.5 Legal Advisor (Adviser) versus Legal Counsel

Legal advisor/adviser is the term quite frequently used by the EU member states
to describe one of the types of lawyers. It might be quite confusing, yet as the
phrase denotes one of the functions the lawyer performs rather than the name of
the legal profession as such.
The term legal counsel or rather ‘counsel’ in most dictionaries is a synonym
of barrister or advocate without further explanation. More detailed definitions
are provided in the dictionaries which relate to American law. For example, West
Encyclopedia of American Law defines the term of counsel as an attorney who is
not the principal lawyer in charge of a case but who merely contributes his advice
on the way it should be handled [50].

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1406 H. Sierocka

Table 1  Terms used for the profession of lawyers in the European Union member states [27]
The EU member state The term

Austria Attorney-at-law
Belgium Lawyer
Bulgaria Attorney-at-law
Croatia Attorney
Cyprus Advocate, legal advisor
Denmark Lawyer, barrister, advocate, legal advisor
England and Wales Lawyer, barrister (advocate), solicitor (legal adviser)
Estonia Lawyer, attorney-at-law, advocate
Finland Lawyer, barrister, advocate, solicitor, legal advisor
France Lawyer, legal advisor
Germany Lawyer
Greece Lawyer, barrister, advocate, solicitor, legal advisor
Hungary Lawyer, barrister, advocate, attorney-at-law
Ireland Barrister, solicitor
Italy Lawyer
Latvia Lawyer
Lithuania Lawyer, barrister, advocate, solicitor/legal adviser
Luxembourg Lawyer
Malta Lawyer, barrister, advocate (interchangeably)
Netherlands Barrister, advocate, solicitor, legal adviser
Northern Ireland Lawyer, barrister (advocate), solicitor (legal advisor)
Poland Advocate, attorney-at-law
Portugal Lawyer, legal advisor, legal agent
Romania Lawyer, legal advisor
Scotland Lawyer, advocate, solicitor (legal adviser)
Slovakia Lawyer, legal advisor
Slovenia Attorney
Spain Lawyer, legal advisor
Sweden Lawyer, barrister, advocate, legal counsel, legal advisor
the Czech Republic Lawyer

3.2 The Conceptual Analysis of the Terms Used for the Profession of Lawyers
in the European Union Member States

The analysis of the respective websites and the data gathered in the table below
(Table 1) show that the Third Space for legal professions, especially for the term
lawyer is very vague. It might be surprising bearing in mind that although the
national language version of every country’s page is maintained by the respective
member state, translations have been done by one body i.e. the European Com-
mission service. Therefore, the uniformity and consistency of the translations
should be a natural consequence, but it is not the case here. The English language

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versions are updated constantly to reflect changes introduced by the competent

national authority. Hence, this legal translation process is extended over time,
most probably performed by numerous people, and this process definitely does
not contribute to the accuracy and precision of the concepts and notions which
are translated or interpreted.
Also, what is particularly striking is the lack of uniformity and consistency of
the facts provided on the portal within the national legal systems. Some EU mem-
ber states (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta,
Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain) produce comprehensive and detailed infor-
mation on legal professions in the respective countries like precise definitions,
descriptions of functions performed and tasks entrusted as well as the requirements
that need to be met to pursue professional practice; other are quite imprecise, incom-
plete or chaotic.
For instance, the information provided by Luxembourg appears to be the most
complete, which definitely makes the Third Space less vague. It covers the informa-
tion not only on the legal basis of a lawyer’s functions, its definition and roles per-
formed and the very detailed conditions to be admitted to the bar, but it also presents
very comprehensive information on various lists of lawyers admitted to the bar with
their competences [22].
Nevertheless, there are a great many states whose information does not provide
much help to gain an understanding of the legal systems, which are so culturally
dependent. For example, there are some countries (Finland or Sweden) which list
only the requirements for pursing professional activity without an attempt to define
the concept of lawyer or describe a lawyer’s roles. Here is an example from Sweden:
Organisation of the legal profession: Lawyers
Barristers/Advocates
Under Swedish law, only members of the Swedish Bar Association (Sveriges
Advokatsamfund) are entitled to use the professional title advokat (‘barrister’ or
‘advocate’). To become a member of the Association, a person must:

• Be a resident of Sweden or another country within the EU or EEA, or of Swit-

zerland;
• Have passed the examinations qualifying the holder to become a judge—in Swe-
den, the LL.M degree;
• Have three years’ practical experience of qualified legal work, and be practising
at the time of application for membership;
• Have completed the Bar Association’s training and passed the examination;
• Be known to be of good character and suitable in other respects to practise as a
barrister [26].

Other countries (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Romania, Slova-
kia) are very laconic and just quote the information provided on the Italian lawyers:
Lawyers
A lawyer is an independent professional called upon to represent and assist their
clients—who may be an individual, a company or a government body—before a
civil, criminal or administrative court.

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1408 H. Sierocka

A lawyer defends clients on the basis of an agreement to represent them and upon
payment of a fee.
Attached to each court is a council composed of local lawyers (Consiglio
dell’ordine).
At national level there is the National Bar Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense).
Law No 247 of 31 December 2012 brought in new provisions governing of the
practice of law [21].
or the Slovak ones:
Lawyers
Legal databases
For further information, please refer to the website Slovak Bar Association.
Solicitors/Legal Advisers
Legal databases
For further information, please refer to the website of the Slovak Centre for Legal
Aid [25].
Although all the websites (except for Italy) include a link to the respective
national bar associations to learn more about the system and legal professions of a
particular state, only 10 out of 24 countries provide the information in English. They
include Denmark [1], Lithuania [32], Greece (although the information is really lim-
ited) [3], the Netherlands [48], Malta [8], Austria [11], Poland [31], Slovenia [39],
Finland [28] and Sweden [47].
Drawing upon the information included on the respective websites of the e-Jus-
tice portal, it can be stated that ‘lawyers’ are law and justice professionals, who are
trained to act in the different fields of law and who assist, advise, conciliate and
defend their clients in and out of court. Many states in their legal systems distin-
guish between the lawyer who pleads a case in a court of law, and another one who
advises clients or prepares documents for them; thus, the two terms provided would
be justifiable. Anything more than the two introduces ambiguity and instead of
increasing the awareness and understanding of the concept results in greater confu-
sion and makes the Third Space very vague.
As Table 1 shows numerous countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hun-
gary, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden) provide for more
than two phrases for the concept of lawyer, but this does not mean that there are
more than two types of lawyers there. Interestingly, Malta is the only country whose
website includes explicit and highlighted information that refers to the linguistic
aspect of the term ‘lawyer’, which clarifies the matter a lot. It reads: “There is only
one type of lawyer in Malta, and the terms ‘lawyer’ and ‘advocate’ are used inter-
changeably” [23].
Having examined the information on the legal professions in Denmark, Finland,
Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Sweden provided on the e-Justice portal, it
can be stated that some terms like barristers/advocates are added to give a foreign
reader the idea of the concept in the international/common law settings similarly as
in the case the terms provided by England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
(there are no legal advisers or advocates there nowadays, but the concepts are added
to frame the functions barristers or solicitors perform). Here is an example of the
information on legal professions in Denmark.

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How Vague is the Third Space for Legal Professions in the European… 1409

Organisation of the legal profession: Lawyers1

Barristers/Advocates
Private practising lawyers
The Danish Law and Bar Society was founded in 1919. All Danish lawyers
(advokater) are mandatory members.
The employed lawyer and trainee lawyers
FAAF is an association of employed lawyers and trainee lawyers, falling under
the Danish association of lawyers and economists (DJØF). DJØF is Denmark’s larg-
est trade union and interest organisation (…). Of FAAF’s approximately 1500 mem-
bers, 900 are lawyers employed in private practice.
In-house legal advisors
In-house lawyers are not only part of the Danish Bar and Law Society, but can
also choose to become members of the association of in-house legal advisors (Dan-
ske Virksomhedsjurister—DVJ). Today approximately two-thirds of the members of
the DVJ association hold a lawyer’s practising certificate. (…) [16]
Information provided on the Estonian and Hungarian legal professions is even
more confusing. The words are used alternately and the reader might be puzzled
whether it is still the same legal profession or a different one with a new role.
Advocates
Lawyers include attorneys-at-law and their assistants.
Advocates are members of the Estonian Bar Association and are regulated by
the Bar Association Act. Anyone who meets the requirements laid down in the Bar
Association Act and has passed the bar examination may be a member of the Esto-
nian Bar Association.
The Estonian Bar Association is a self-governing professional association estab-
lished to provide legal services in both the private and public interest and protect the
professional rights of lawyers (…).
The Estonian Bar Association acts through its bodies. These include the general
assembly, the board, the chairperson, the audit committee, the court of honour and
the professional suitability assessment committee.
Attorneys-at-law have the authority:

• To represent and defend clients in court and in pre-trial and other proceedings
both in Estonia and abroad;
• To gather evidence;
• To select at will and to use lawful means and measures when providing legal ser-
vices; (…) [17]

Lawyers
Barristers/Advocates (ügyvéd/ügyvéd)
In the course of practising their profession, attorneys-at-law (ügyvéd) help
their clients to assert their rights and perform their obligations. Attorneys

1
The terms used for legal professions are underlined by the author of the paper to highlight their usage
and position in the text.

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1410 H. Sierocka

(ügyvéd) can provide legal representation in all cases and before all authorities.
Attorneys are independent in the course of their professional work, which means
that they may not be influenced and may not undertake such liabilities that would
endanger this independence [20].
In the Portuguese system three types of legal professionals are listed: lawyer,
legal advisor, and legal agent [24]. Lawyers (advogados) are legal professionals,
who need to be registered with the Bar Association and whose role is to pro-
vide legal representation and legal advice at the request of a third party. Apart
from lawyers (advogados), legal advisers (consultores jurídicos) are mentioned;
however, with a laconic note that in the Portuguese legal system, there is no dis-
tinction between lawyers and legal advisers, so nothing more is known about a
legal adviser’s roles or functions. The third group that falls into the category of
‘lawyers’ is called legal agents (solicitadores). A legal agent is an independent
professional who provides their clients with legal advice and legal representation
in court, within the limits imposed by their statutes and procedural legislation.
According to the information provided on the portal, legal agents may represent
the parties in court [whenever legal representation by a lawyer (advogado) is not
mandatory] and before the tax administration, notary offices, registrar offices and
public administration bodies. Apparently, legal agents (solicitadores) in Portugal
perform the tasks analogous to those assigned to solicitors in the UK, which is
also confirmed by similar name in Portuguese. Nevertheless, the fact that we also
have ‘legal advisers’ in Portugal, the term which in some EU member states is
frequently treated as the equivalent of the position of solicitor makes the transla-
tion and interpretation in this case complicated.
Some vagueness in translation, interpretation and the application of terms
might result from the fact that in some legal systems two types of lawyers exist,
with a distinction between the pleader (advocate/barrister) and the adviser (coun-
sellor). There are EU member states where this difference is still present, coun-
tries which used to have two types of lawyers but due to some reforms in their
legal systems merged the positions, like in France, where after the law on legal
professions was adopted in 1971; a new profession of lawyer was created (avocat)
by amalgamating the existing professions of lawyer (avocat) and legal adviser
(conseil juridique). Finally, there are some countries which did have a distinction
between the two legal professions, retained the two types of lawyers (with subtle
differences) and conferred the same rights and obligations on them.
There are some countries (Hungary, Portugal and Romania) where there is still
a distinction between barristers (advocates) and solicitors (legal advisers). For
example, in Hungary advocates (ügyvéd/ügyvéd) can provide legal representa-
tion in all cases and before all authorities, prepare legal documents and give legal
consultation. Also, due to the requirements of today’s economic life, they may
give tax advice, conduct real estate agency operations and out-of-court media-
tion. Solicitors (jogtanácsos), on the other hand, facilitate the operation of the
organisation which employs them. In contrast to advocates, solicitors perform
their duties (which are not as extensive as those of advocates i.e. providing legal
advice and information, drafting legal documents and organizing legal work)
on the basis of employment contracts and receive compensation based on them,

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How Vague is the Third Space for Legal Professions in the European… 1411

unlike advocates whose compensation is subject to free agreement between them

and their clients [20].
In other countries like Denmark, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Slovak and Finland,
there are two types of lawyers, but their roles and functions significantly overlap,
which makes the Third Space even more vague. It is hard to negotiate, translate,
interpret or integrate the meaning into other socio-political and cultural contexts,
all the more so when the term is not clear in the source language or the informa-
tion supplied is very limited as can be found on the Greek website. We can read on
the Greek website that lawyers (δικηγόροι) can also serve as legal advisers (νομικοί
σύμβουλοι), but no more details about their roles, functions nor the requirements for
pursuing professional activities are provided except for a very interesting fact that in
Greece lawyers are unpaid civil servants who are not required to specialize in any
field [19].
The facts concerning the Danish system are much more detailed, describing the
differences between private practising lawyers and in-house lawyers. As it is pointed
out both categories fall under the same regulations, and they have the same legal
status as other lawyers “in respect of code of conduct, professional secrecy, client-
lawyer confidentiality or legal privilege” [16]. The only (and interesting) difference
concerns whom an in-house lawyer can represent under his/her practising certificate
as a lawyer. We learn that “unless the in-house lawyer has a law practice separate to
his/her employment, he/she can only apply the title of lawyer when representing the
employing company or organisation. That is, if the employer asks the in-house law-
yer to provide legal advice to a customer or a member, the title of lawyer cannot be
invoked while doing so”. This specific setting shows how complex the Third Space
is and how much depends on the knowledge of the translator or the interpreter, not
only the linguistic one but knowledge of the socio-political and cultural contexts in
both source and target legal cultures, and moreover, it cannot ensure that a task will
be easier, particularly if there is not a functional equivalent in the other linguistic
framework.
Poland serves as a good example struggling with the terminology to describe the
profession of lawyers. Not until 1 July 2015 was the distinction between the two
professions fairly clear, which more or less resembled those that exist in the Eng-
lish system. Adwokat (advocate) like a barrister pleaded cases before all the courts,
whereas radca prawny (attorney-at-law) like an English solicitor had to carry out
most of the legal office work, to meet clients and conduct negotiations as well as
give legal advice and draft documents. Radcy prawny could represent clients before
the court, except in criminal cases. Since 1 July 2015 advocates and attorneys-at-
law have enjoyed the same procedural rights. Attorneys-at-law can act as counsels
for the defence in criminal proceedings unless they are employed by other parties.
In addition, they can also act in cases involving minor offences and act as counsels
for the defence in disciplinary proceedings. Thus, their legal status is relatively the
same as that of advocates, and therefore they started to be quite sensitive to being
called legal advisers (which is the literal translation of the term radca prawny),
given they received the same status and the same prestige as advocates. The term
of legal adviser was and still is perceived somewhat inferior to that of advocate as
denotes anybody (the person does not have to be a lawyer) who gives advice on

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the law. Interestingly, Polish attorneys-at-law were quite concerned about that, and
on 21–22 September 2018 the National Bar Council of Attorneys-at-Law adopted
a resolution (Resolution No. 102/X/2018) on the English equivalents of the pro-
fession of attorney-at-law, the self-government of attorneys-at-law, its authorities
and organisational units and the name “Law Firm of Attorney-at-Law” to clarify
the confusion that appeared after the reform [43]. Furthermore, the term of legal
adviser in international settings also refers to persons who have not completed their
legal studies. Interestingly, the resolution was not only disseminated among national
bar associations of attorneys-at-law but also reached academic centres and universi-
ties. Undoubtedly, such initiatives and determination to define the terms are highly
commendable as they, to a great extent, facilitate the work of translators and inter-
preters, making the Third Space more precise, uniform and explicit.
There are some countries where the institution of solicitors/legal advisers does
not exist (e.g. Lithuania, Estonia, and the Netherlands), or their functions are per-
formed by lawyers (advocates). Remarkably, the fact that such information is
included on the websites of these countries shows that the information providers are
aware of the discrepancies present in the EU member states in that respect and con-
sequently attempt to decrease ‘the vagueness” of the terms.
Also, another remark could be made here. The analysis of the terms used in the
EU member states’ native languages shows (Table 2) that in their native language as
many as 20 out of 27 EU member states use the term which most probably has the
same linguistic roots as advocate, so this equivalent might be the least confusing in
various socio-linguistic and cultural settings.2

4 Conclusions

Despite the intention of legislators to produce unambiguous and accurate concepts,

it is not that easy as particular cultural and social contexts (like a country’s sys-
tem of government, socio-economic changes or historical and cultural values) are
constantly evolving. Especially, culture, as Bhatia & Bhatia [6] highlight, shapes
not only the way professional texts and associated social actions are interpreted but
also refers to professional practices “in which these are embedded”, and if legal cul-
tures and systems vary greatly, the process becomes even more complex as it affects
the translation and interpretation, as well as the application of law. This has pro-
found significance when applied to the legal systems of the European Union mem-
ber states, where the mutual trust and recognition of judgements, respect for the
various legal systems and traditions are assumed to be the cornerstone of judicial
cooperation.
In that light the aim of the paper was to analyse the key terminology uti-
lized by all the European Union member states with reference to the term law-
yer, which due to the different functions and roles this legal professional plays

2
The UK being the country in transition to be withdrawn from the European Union has been excluded
from the list this time.

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How Vague is the Third Space for Legal Professions in the European… 1413

Table 2  Equivalents for the term The EU member state The equivalent in the EU
of lawyer in the European Union member state’s native
member states in their native language
language [27]
Austria Rechtsanwalt
Belgium avocats/advocaten
Bulgaria aдвoкaт
Croatia odvjetnik
Cyprus Δικηγόροι
Denmark advokater
Estonia advokaat
Finland asianajaja/advokat
France avocat
Germany Rechtsanwalt
Greece δικηγόροι
Hungary ügyvéd/ügyvéd/jogtanácsos
Ireland barrister, solicitor
Italy avvocato
Latvia advokāt
Lithuania advokāt
Luxembourg avocat
Malta advocate
Netherlands advocaat
Poland adwokat/radca prawny
Portugal advogado
Romania avocat
Slovakia advokát
Slovenia odvetnik
Spain abogado
Sweden advokat
The Czech Republic advokát

in various legal systems, might pose obstacles in translation and interpretation.

Drawing upon the research conducted it can be stated that the Third Space for
the profession of lawyer in the EU settings is relatively vague. It is chiefly due
to various contexts present in a specific EU member state which are rooted in the
history, politics, religion or culture in particular. The fact that within one body
i.e. the European Union we have countries of both common law and continental
law traditions makes it difficult to start to find appropriate equivalents for all legal
notions and concepts in both the source and target legal culture. It is not surpris-
ing then that legal terms are complex and ambiguous, which consequently may
lead to contentious interpretation. Moreover, the lack of uniformity in supply-
ing information on legal professions by particular EU countries or inconsistencies

13
1414 H. Sierocka

in translation of legal professions provided by one (sic!) body i.e. the European
Commission translation services contributes to this vagueness as well.
As Matulewska [35, p. 183] highlights “the more divergent legal systems are, the
more system-bound terminology problems occur”. The notions of various legal pro-
fessions in the EU serve as good examples here. How to translate the term notary in
Cyprus where such a legal profession does not exist [15]. Why are there eight types
of prosecutors in Estonia and how are they different [17, 42]? How to translate and
interpret the term prosecutor in Luxembourg if in fact it is a judge, not a prosecu-
tor [22]? Do the German patent agents have their equivalents in other EU member
states? Is there a separate legal position in Germany if it is listed on the German
website [18]? Who are legal procurators in Malta? How different are they from
prosecutors? Can this meaning be integrated into other contexts [23]? These are only
a few examples to show that the Third Space is very vague and without the aware-
ness of the socio-political and cultural backgrounds compromises, which endeavour
to find the most suitable and precise alternatives to build a strong link between the
source and the target space within the linguistic framework, are not possible.

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maps and institutional affiliations.

Affiliations

Halina Sierocka1

* Halina Sierocka
h.sierocka@uwb.edu.pl; soll@poczta.onet.pl
1
Faculty of Law, Białystok Legal English Centre, University of Białystok, ul. Mickiewicza 1,
15‑201 Białystok, Poland

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