Hukuk dili gündelik dilde hiç kullanılmayan sözcüklerle veya gündelik anlamlarının

dışında kullanılan sözcüklerle dolu bir dildir. Eleştirmenler veya dilbilimciler bu dili

"argo" veya "jargon" olarak nitelendirmektedirler.

TÜRK VE İNGİLİZ HUKUK DİLLERİNİN ÖZELLİKLERİ

I - UZUN VE KARMAŞIK TÜMCELER.

en kısa tümcenin 10 sözcük, en uzun tümcenin de 179 sözcükten oluştuğunu saptamıştır

Uzun tümce yapısı sadece yasalarda bulunmakla da kalmamaktadır. Tiersma Amerika'da bir patent
başvurusunun uzun olsa bile tek bir tümce halinde olması gerektiğini belirtmektedir (1999:56). Nokta
koyduktan sonra yeni bir tümce halinde yazılan tek bir tümce dahi başvurunun reddedilmesinin
nedeni olabilmektedir.

Bu durumun, yani hukuk dilinin çok fazla sözcüklü, çok uzun ve karmaşık tümceler- le bezenmiş
olmasının nedeni olarak değişen dünya ve aynı konuda ortaya çıkabilen değişik durumlara alt kavram
ve sözcüklerin aynı olayla ilgili bir yzışmaya eklenmesi ve bu yazışmadan eskiden yer ala gelmiş olan
hiçbir bilgi, kavram ve koşulun çıkanımaması gösterilmektedir. Bir başka neden de sözcüklerin sadece sı-
fatlarla tanımlanmasından daha çok zarf tümleçlerinin kullanılmasıdır. Örneğin hukuk- çuların sadece "slowly"
demek yerine “at slow speed" demeyi yeğlemeleri gibi Örneğin "if yeri ne "in the event that", "before" yerine
"prior to", "after" yerine "subscquent to"

Bowers bu özelliğin nedenini şöyle açıklamaktadır: Yasaların sözlü olarak varolduğu zamanlarda tek bir
sözcüğün ifade ettiği anlamsal boyutun birkaç sözcüğe ya- yılarak daha fazla akılda kalmasını sağlamak. Örneğin,
"now" yerine "at this present moment in time" , "while" yerine"during such time as", "there" yerine "in that
place", "if" yerine "in the event that" terimlerinin kullanılması gibi

Dickcrson'un verdiği örneklerden bazıları: "need" yerine "have need of, "enough" yerine "sufficient number of,
"before" yerine "no later than", "by" yerine "by means of, "does not" yerine "does not operate to"
sözcüklerinin kullanılmasıdır Bowers bu "laf kalabalığının" sadece sözcükler değil heceler bazında da
ölçülebileceğini belirtmektedir. Örneğin tek heceli "try" yeterli olacakken "endevour" sözcüğü- nün, "about"
yerine "approximately" sözcüğünün kullanılması, "for" yerine "on behalf of, "because" yerine "for the reason
that" kullanılması gibi

eş anlamlı iki sözcüğün ardı ardına kullanılması da uzun tümce oluşumunun nedenlerinden biridir iki sözcüğün
ardı ardına kullanılmasının nedeni o devirlerde daha iyi akılda kalmasını sağlamak veya biri İngilizce, biri
Fransızca olan sözcüklerden birinin mutlaka anlaşılmasını garanti altına almaktır.

"işe yaramaz" tekrarların da bulunduğunu belirtmektedir Bunlara örnek olarak "fit and proper", "to have and to
hold", "mind and memory", "will and testatement"

laf kalabalığı diyebileceğimiz özelliğine katkıda bulunan etmenlerden diğeri de yan tümcelerin "and" ve "or" ile
birbirlerine bağlanmalarıdır Türk hukuk dilinde de aynı şekilde "ve" ve "veya" bağlacının sık kullanımı dikkati
çekmektedir.

II- OLAĞANDIŞI TÜMCE YAPILARI.

hukuk metinlerinde zarflar genellikle sı- fat-fiillerden önce gelmektedir: "herein contained", veya "hereinbefore
reserved" gibi. Bunların günlük İngiliz dilinde kullanımının "contained herein" ve "reserved hereinbefore"
şcklinde olması beklenmektedir
Olağandışı tümce yapılarının bir başka şekli de özne ile yüklem arasına çok fazla sözcük sıkıştırmaktır
İngilizce’de günlük dilde kullanılmayan ancak hukuk söyleminde halen sıklıkla kul- lanılan bir yapı vardır:
yüklemin yalın haliyle yapılan bu kalıp "Iet" veya "may" kullanımına eşit şeklide kullanılmaktadır. İngilizce
vekaletnamelerin başında yer alan "Know all men by these presents" tümcesi tamamen devrik ve olağandışı bir
tümce yapısıdır, ve "let eveybody know" yani "herkes bilsin ki" anlamına gelmektedir.
Türk hukuk dilinde eski ve dolayısıyla Türkçe'nin olağan tamlama yapısına uyma yan kalıpları Arapça ve Farsça
tamlamalar oluşturmaktadır. Aşağıda bu tip tamlamalar dan örnekler görmekteyiz:
Esbabı mucibe: gerekli nedenler (B .K. Madde 316).
İhtiyati haciz: önlem olarak haciz koydurma (icra İflas Kanunu, Madde 259).
Feshi ihbar: bozulan durumu haber verme (B .K. madde: 169).
Sukutu hak: bir hakkın düşmesi (B.K. Madde 24).
Talıki şart: geciktirici şart (B.K. Madde 194).
III. KİŞİSİZ VE EDİLGEN TÜMCE YAPILARI
Genelde hukuk dilinde, İngilizce’de "I", "we" ve "you" gibi, Türkçe'de ise "ben", "sen", ve "biz" "siz" gibi l. ve 2.
tekil ve çoğul şahıs zamirleri kullanılmadan yapılan tümcelerle ifade edilmektedir. Örneğin İngiliz hukuk dilinde
bir avukat bir savcıya hi- tap ederken "May it please you" yerine "May it please the court" şeklinde söze başlan-
maktadır. Günlük yaşamda birisinden bir şey yapması istenildiğinde ya da birisine bir emir verildiğinde söze
"you" yani ikinci tekil şahıs zamiri ile başlanıyor olsa bile bu tür söylemler hukuk dilinde 3. tekil şahısla
başlamaktadır. Bir dilekçede "I allege" yerine "the plaintiffalleges...", bir sözleşmede ise "I shall pay you" yerine
"Buyer shall pay" veya "the party shall pay" şeklinde söylemler kullanılmaktadır.
Kişisiz, daha doğrusu 3. tekil şahıs zamirinin hukuk söyleminde kullanılmasının ne- deni doğrudan ve sadece o
yazıyı okuyana değil, bir defada bir çok okura seslenebilme ve yasa, tüzük, yönetmelik, gibi metinleri herkesi
kapsar hale getirebilme kaygısıdır.
3. şahıs kullanmak bir ölçüde, yasa koyucuların önemsedikleri özelliklerden biri olan nesnel bir bakış açışını da
yansıtmaktadır. Örneğin bir savcının "ben şöyle karar verdim gibi son derece öznel ve kişisel bir bakış açışı
sergilemesindense "mahkeme ............ya
karar verdi" veya "mis court judges..." gibi nesnel ve daha güçlü bir ifadeyle kararını bildirmesi o kararın nesnel,
tarafsız ve güçlü bir kurum tarafından verildiğini ifade et- mektedir.
3. şahıs kullanımı, kişisiz tümceler veya edilgen yapıların ha- kimlerin basit bir "ölümlü" değil de yasaların ve
adaletin temsilcileri olduğunu ifade et- mektedir (
Hakim ve savcılara bir saygı gösterisi olarak avukatlar da mahkeme söylemlerinde 3. şahıs kullanmaktadır
Ancak sözleşmeler ve diğer hukuk metinlerinde hiçbir zaman l. tekil şahıs "I" kul- lanılmasa da örneğin bir
vasiyette bunun tam tersine "I" kullanılmaktadır, çünkü vasiyet sadece bir kişiye ait ve çok kişisel bir metin
türüdür
IV. BELİRSİZ DİI.
Hukukçular her ne kadar olabildiğince kesin, açık ve belirgin ifadeler kullansa da İngiliz hukuk dilinin "genel,
belirsiz ve esnek ifadelerle dolu sözcüklerden" oluşmakta olduğu ifade edilmektedir
Bu özellik hukuki söylemlerin yorumlanmasında belirli bir esneklik sağlamakta ve dolayısıyla işe yaramaktadır.
Bir hukuk metninde, örneğin bir sözleşmede, tarafların önceden belirlemek zorunda kalmadan bir takım genel
terimler kullanabilmesine ola- nak tanımaktadır. Aynı zamanda yasaların değişken koşullara uyum
sağlayabilmesine olanak tanımaktadır. Bunların yanısıra değişen norm ve standartlara olduğu kadar ileri- de
ortaya çıkabilecek olan yeni koşullar için de geçerli olmasını sağlamaktadır
İn- giliz hukuk dilinde kullanılan "due process", "probable cause", "unreasonable", "reaso- nable", "adequate
cause", "as soon as possible", "fair division", "improper" gibi sözcük- ler belirsiz ve esnek dil kullanımından
örneklerdir
"muayyen mühlet" de belirsiz dil kullanımına bir örnektir
V. ESKİ DİL KULLANIMI:
Bunun nedenleri İngiliz hukukunun tarihsel gelişimi ve evreleri sırasında uğradığı dış etkiler yani Anglo-Saxon,
Latin ve Fransız dillerinin bı- raktığı etkilerdir. Bazı sözcükler de İngilizce’nin eski yüzyıllarda kullanılan ve şu
anda günlük İngilizce’den kalkmış olan eski (arkaik) yapılarını korumuşlardır. Örneğin "you" kişi adılının eski
çoğul hali '"ye" nin "Hear ye" olarak kullanılması gibi, veya yüklemin sonuna gelen eski "eth" takısının "This
policy witnessseth that" tümceciğinde kullanılması gibi.
V-l) "Same" Sözcüğünün Kullanılışı
"Same" yani "aynı" sözcüğünün İngiliz hukuk söyleminde adıl yerine kullanılması sorun yaratan arkaik
özelliklerden biridir Örneğin: "She made an offer in a letter to buy the machinery, and I accepted same"
tümcesinde "same" yerine "the same" kullanılması gramer açısın- dan çok daha doğru olacaktır, ancak
hukukçuların bu tip arkaik kullanımın oldukça doğ- ru olduğunu düşündükleri söylenmektedir
V-2)"Said" ve "Aforesaid":
İngiliz hukuk söyleminin bir başka arkaik dil kullanımı da "said" ve "aforesaid" söz- cüklerinin işaret zamiri
olarak kullanılmasıdır.
 V-3) "Here"- "There" li sözcükler:
Ortaçağ İngilizce'sinde kullanılan eski bir yapı olan - here, there ve where sözcük- leriyle başlayan yapılar hukuk
söyleminde günümüzde de çok kullanılmakta ve Türk- çe'de tek bir karşılıkları olmadığı için de İngilizce’den
Türkçe'ye yapılan hukuk çeviri- lerinde zorluklar yaratmaktadır. Örneğin Ortaçağ İngilizcesi'nde "under it"
yerine "he- reunder". "under that" yerine "thereunder" kullanılabilmekte ise de günümüzde bu tip kullanımlar
günlük konuşulan İngilizce'den kalkmıştır, ancak hala hukuk dilinde kulla- nılmakladır
"Herein, hereto, hereunder, herewith, heretofore, hereby"
"Therein, thereto, thereunder, therewith, theretofore, thereby."
Türk hukuk dili çoğunlukla Arapça ve Farsça'ya dayanmaktadır. Anayasamızın dilinin ol- dukça açık, net ve arı
bir Türkçe ile yazılmış olmasıdır. Ancak diğer yasalarda dile ay- nı özen gösterilmemiş, ve yasalar genellikle
Arapça ve Farsça sözcüklerle bezenmiştir. dolayısıyla bu gün hala hukuk dili Arapça kalmıştır. Hukuk dilimizin en
önemli özelliği budur

VI. YENİ TÜRETİLEN SÖZCÜKLER

İngiliz hukuk diline Fransızca'nın etkisinden gelen bir başka özellik de "-ee" sone- kini bir yüklemin sonuna
ekleyerek o eylemi yerine getiren insan olan özneyi belirtmek üzere sözcük türetmektir. Bu özellik gündelik
dilde bazı sözcüklerle kullanılıyor olsa da çoğu günlük kullanımdan kalkmış ancak bir çoğu da hukuk diline
yerleşmiştir. Ör- neğin "asylee", "escapee", "discriminatee" gibi. Bu sözcükler daha çok çiftler olarak
kullanılmaktadır: mortgagor/mortgagee, trustor/trustee, bailor/bailee, employer/employee gibi. Türkçe Hukuk
dilinde bu mantıkla aynı şekilde yeni türetilen sözcüklere rastlanmamaktadır.

VII. SÖZCÜKLERİN BİLİNEN ANLAMLARININ DIŞINDA KULLANILMASI:

Yasa dilinin bilinen özelliklerinden biri de bilinen ve günlük dilde yer almış ve kul- lanılmakta olan sözcüklerin
hukuki metinlerde kullanıldığında gündelik anlamından ta- mamen başka anlamlara gelmesidir.
Action: Yaygın anlamı"iş, çalışma, faaliyet" (İngilizce-Türkçe Redhose Sözlüğü 1979) ancak
hukuki terim olarak "dava" anlamına gelmektedir (Tiersma 1999:111).
Aggravation: kızdırma, darıltma, şiddetlendirme (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: Bir kişiye ölüme mahkum etme nedeni (Tiersma 1999; 111)
Assignement: atama, tayin etme (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlam: Bir hakkın, bir çıkarın devredilmesi (Danet 1985:285).
Brief: Kısa, özet, hulasa (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: Bir hukuki belge şekli (Tiersma 1999:111).
Continuance: Devam, süreklilik (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: Bir prosedürü bir süre ertelemek (Tiersma 1999.111).
Motion: Hareket, devinme, devinim (Redhouse Sözlüğü)
Hukuki anlamı: Önerge (Tiersma 1999.111)
Party: Parti, ziyafet, toplantı, eğlence (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: Bir davada ya da bir sözleşmedeki taraflardan her biri (Tiersma 1999.112).
Plead: Yalvarmak, rica etmek (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: Dava dilekçesi (Tiersma 1999.112).
Avoid: kaçınmak, sakınmak, çekinmek (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı: iptal etmek (Tiersma 1999.112).
Hand: el (Redhouse Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı:imza (Tiersma 1999.112).
Presents: takdim etmek, sunmak, arzetmek fiilinin 3. tekil şahıslarla kullanılan hali Redhouse
Sözlüğü).
Hukuki anlamı:bu yasal belge (Tiersma 1999.112).
Türkçe'ye çeviri yaparken çeviri öğrencilerini şa- şırtan ve zorlayan sözcüklerden biri de gündelik kullanımın
dışında kullanılan "where- as" sözcüğüdür.
VIII: EŞ ANLAMLI SÖZCÜKLERİN BİRLİKTE KULLANILMASI:
iki eşanlamlı sözcükten biri İn- gilizce biri Fransızca'dır,
Bunlardan bazıları: "rest, residue and remainder", "give,devise and bequeth", "aid and abet", "due and owing",
"fuli faith and credit", "oredered, adjudged and decreed" , "mind and memory", "null and void", "posession,
custody and control", "right, title and interest", "save and except", "true and correct" gibi sözcük çiftlemeleridir.
Türk hukuk dilinde aynı tümce içinde yan yana birlikte kullanılan eşanlamlı sözcük- ler bulunmamaktadır. Ancak,
buna benzeyen başka bir özellik anlamları farklı hatta tam birbirinin karşıtı olsa da her zaman birlikte kullanılan
sözcükler olmasıdır. Örneğin:

"Usul ve füruğ": çocuklar ve ana - baba tarafı "Mecur-müstecir": Kiracı

ve kiralayan "Müddei-müddei aleyh: Davacı ve davalı
"Takas-mahsup: Bir tarafın alacağını, diğer tarafın borcundan keserek anlaşma
Birlikte kullanılan sözcüklerin Türk hukukunda İngiliz hukuk dilindekine benzer bir yanı vardır: Türkçe ve Arapça
sözcüklerin birlikte kullanılması. Ancak, bu sözcüklerin anlamları İngiliz hukuk dilinde olduğu gibi aynı değildir

IX- HUKUK DİLİNDE ZAMAN:

Genel olarak İngilizce dilinin kullanımında gelecek zaman ifade eden yardımcı fiil ''shall" hukuk söyleminde
gelecek zaman ifade etmemektedir. Günlük dilde l. tekil ve l. çoğul şahısla kullanılan "shall" hukuk dilinde
zorunluluk, emir, açıklama ve bildirim ifade etmek üzere kullanılmaktadır.
Yasalarda olduğu gibi hukuk alanında diğer yazışmalarda, örneğin sözleşmelerin di- linde de kullanılan zaman
"shall" ile ifade edilmektedir:
Türkçe hukuk dilinde ise yaptırımların ve zorunlulukların ifade edildiği zaman ge- niş zamandır. Yasalarda ve
diğer hukuki belgelerde geniş zaman kullanılmaktadır.
X-TEKNİK TERİMLER:
Örneğin "estoppel", "lis penderus", "testator", "tortfeasor" gibi. Danet bu örneklere "forfeiture" ve "fee simple"
i de ekler
Türkçe hukuk dilinde de teknik terimler kuşkusuz oldukça büyük bir yer tutmakta- dır.
örneğin.
Zamanı rücu: Geriye dönüş (Türk Ceza Kanunu.)
Zımni feragat: Açıkça belirtmeden vazgeçmek (13 .K.).
İddet müddeti: Kanuni bekleme süresi , kadının boşanmasından sonra yeniden evleri- mesi
için beklediği süre (M. K.).
Müruru zaman: Zaman aşımı, bir hakkın kullanılması için verilen yasal sürenin geç- mis
olması (B. K,).
Fekketmek: Kaybetmek, yoketmek (T .C.K).
Kazai rüşt: Mahkeme kararıyla reşit sayılma. 15 yaşını ikmal eden küçükler Asliye Mahkemesinin kararıyla reşit
sayılabilir

XI-RESMİYET:
Resmi ve törensel dil yasa dilinin en önemli özelliklerinden biridir. Dolayısıyla bu dil yukarıda gördüğümüz gibi
eski dil kullanımını da gerektirmektedir. Bir mahkeme salonunda klişeleşmiş sözler ve törensel ifadeler
izleyicilere olup bitenlerin önemini anlatmak içindir
Bir duruşmanın başlangıcında katibin "Oyez, Oyez, Oyez," ya da "hear ye, hear ye, hear ye" diyerek herkesi
ayağa kalkmaya davet etmesi olup bitecek olan şeyin ciddiyetini ve önemini belirtmek içindir
Türk mahkemelerinde ise hakimlerin salona girdiğinde ve karar okunurken dinleyicilerin ayağa kalkması,
tanıkların yemin etmesi farklı bir ortamı vur- gulamaktadır. Gündelik hayattan farklı olma, ayrılma duygusu
dinleyicilerin de bu or- tamda sessiz sedasız oturmaları ile de pekiştirilmektedir
Gördüğümüz gibi hem İngilizce hem de Türkçe hukuk- dili ya günlük dilde çok az kullanılan,
ya da hiç kullanılmayan eski sözcüklerle doludur, İngilizcede hukuk dilinde ha la kullanılmakta
olan Latince ve Fransızca sözcükler, Türk hukuk dilinde ise hala kulla- nılan Arapça ve Farsça
sözcükler iletişimi daha fazla artırmamakla, tam tersine anlaşıl- mayı güçleştirerek ve belirsizlik
yaratarak iletişimi bir anlamda engellemektedir.
Eski dil kullanımının nedenlerinden birine bu dilin daha resmi olması gösterilmekle- dir
(Tiersma 1999:95). Dilin sürekli değişmesi ve gelişmesine karşın hukuk dilinin de- ğişmemesi ve
yenileşmemesi bu dile tutucu bir özellik katmaktadır. Bu yönüyle hukuk dili, dilin tutucu olduğu
başka bir alanla, yani "din" ile karşılaştırılmaktadır (Tiersma 1999:95). Katolik kilisesinin dini dil
olarak Latince'ye bağlı kalması, aynı şekilde Ya- hudilerin İbranice'ye, Hinduların da din dili
olarak Sanskritçe'ye bağlı kalmaları gibi Türkiye'de de din dili olarak Arapça hala
sürdürülmektedir. Ezan Arapça okunmakta, ibadet dili Arapça olarak devam etmektedir. Kuran'ın
çevirişi söz konusu değildir, an- cak anlamını özetleyen "meal"i vardır, ama yine de ibadet
sırasında dualar Türkçe değil Arapça okunmaktadır. Hristiyanların kutsal kitabı olan İncil' i de bir
başka dile çevir- mek sorun oluşturmaktadır, ve İncil'in her sözcüğü kutsal ve direkt Tanrının
ağzından çıktığı varsayıldığı için çeviri metnin doğruluğuna inanmakta da güçlük çekilmektedir
(Tiersma 1999:96).
İncil ve Kuran'ın din alanındaki yetkin ve güvenilir metinler olduğu gibi tüzük, yö- netmelik,
kanun ve yargı alanındaki diğer metinler de hukuk mesleği için en yetkin ve güvenilir metinlerdir.
Dolayısıyla bunları da çevirmekten ve güncelleştirmekten kaçınıl maktadır **. Bunun sonucu
olarak eski dil ve eski gramer yapıları günümüzde de hukuk metinleri üzerinde egemenliklerini
sürdürmektedir.

Yukarıda gördüğümüz, gibi, İngiliz ve Türk hukuk dillerinin ortak olan birçok yönü vardır. Bu
ortak özelliklerin eski dil kullanımı, karmaşık tümce yapılan, teknik terimler, eşanlamlı
sözcüklerin birlikte kullanımı gibi birçoğu iki hukuk diline de Tarihsel gelişimleriyle doğal olarak
gelen, ancak bir türlü değişmeyi hep öyle kullanılan özellikler- dir.

Hukuk metinlerinin eski, yerleşmiş ve kalıplaşmış dillerini güncelleştirmemenin bir nedeni de

bu sözcüklerin ve kalıpların yıllar yılı kullanılarak bir yetkinlik kazanmış olm- alalarıdır. Bu
alışılmış kalıpları değiştirmek hukuk alanında karmaşa yaratabilecektir.
Eski dil ve kalıpları değiştirmemenin bir başka nedeni de bu dilin kullanıcılarına bir güvence
ve rahatlık getirmesidir. Hukuk alanında yıllardır kullanılagelen ve doğruluğu, geçerliliği
sabitleşen kalıp ve sözleri kullanmak hukukçuların kendilerim güvende his- setmelerim de
sağlamaktadır. Kalıplaşmış kullanımları güncelleştirmek bir takım yanlış ifadelere de neden
olabilecektir.
Son olarak eski bir dili kullanmak hukuk sistemi üzerinde bir "zaman dişilik" özel ligi yaratmakta, böylece
yasama sisteminin asırlardır süregelen ve sürmeye devam ede- rek olan bir sistem olduğu kanısını yaratarak
insanlar üzerinde bir saygınlık duygusunu gündeme getirmektedir.

Problems and Strategies in Translating Legal Texts

Legal translation often presents difficulties to translators, especially novice translators, due to its
highly specialized vocabulary and 'unique' structure. According to Murici (2016a, p. 80), the
difficulties in translation are basically due to the differences in the different legal cultures and legal
systems because the legal language has developed its characteristics to meet the demands of the
legal system where it is expressed.
In addition, legal translation is obviously different from other types of technical translation that tend
to convey universal information with much less technical terms. It is enough to apply equivalent
terms in the target language (TL) and source language (SL). Kockaert, Leuven, and Rahab (2017) even
confirm that legal translation has always been a cornerstone of professional translation and the most
challenging area in technical communication. This indicates that both novice and experienced
translators encounter difficulties in translating legal texts.
Such difficulties have attracted several scholars to conduct translation studies on law and its related
discourse. Challenges or problems in legal texts translation, models in translating legal texts , the
importance of the legal translation in the globalized world , approach in translating legal texts are
some of the translation studies dealing with a legal text translation.
Unlike ordinary language (the language used by people in their daily conversation), legal language is a
specialized language of legal norms and related discourse. In addition, legal language is a language
related to law and legal processes (Murici, 2016a, p. 280). Due to its specialized usage, it belongs to a
specific register, i.e., a variety of languages appropriate to the legal situations of use. This is since
legal language has its own vocabulary, grammatical structure, and subject matter. Besides, it allows
deviant rules of grammar which are certainly not acceptable in the ordinary (standard) language
In terms of the nature of its use, Cao (2007, p. 13) describes legal language as normative,
performative, and technical language. Legal language is normative because it is used to impose rights
and obligations and is prescriptive mainly because the essential function of law is to guide human
behavior and regulate human relations, and language serves as the medium, process and product in the
various areas of the law (Maley, 1994, p. 11). Therefore, legal language shall be predominantly
prescriptive, directive, and imperative to achieve its purpose. Furthermore, legal language is
performative because words (as the element of language) are used to construct expressions and
contain actions. Adopting the speech act theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969), words are not only used
to say things but are also used to do things. This means that facts in law may be changed by uttering
certain words because legal effects and legal consequences are commonly obtained by merely
uttering certain words (Cao, 2007, p. 14). In addition, Cao (2007, pp. 14-15) also uses the term 'legal
speech acts' to accommodate the performative function of legal language. Therefore, the so-called
five types of speech acts – representatives, commissives, expressives, declaratives, and directives
(Searle, 1976; Danet, 1980) – are indispensable by the law in achieving its purpose of regulating
human behavior and society and establishing obligation, prohibition, and permission.
Moreover, legal language is technical because it involves specialized language and texts (Cao, 2007,
p. 15). The question of the technicality of legal language is not perceived consistently. One party
argues that there is no legal language because it is merely a part of the ordinary language. The other
party holds that legal language is a technical language, a specialized language which is different from
the ordinary language. If the second view is accepted, what are the factors that make the legal
language different from other types of language use? the core differences are related to such
following aspects as speakers, stylistic features, specific vocabulary/terminology issues, and syntactic
structures.
To sum up, legal language is a specialized language used in legal settings for which it is categorized as
a particular register. It has its own vocabulary, grammatical structure, and subject matter.
As a language register, legal language has its own typical lexical and syntactic features (Stanojevic,
2011). Lexical features concern with the choice of words used in legal texts. Meanwhile, syntactic
features concern with the structure used to arrange the lexical items in the form of phrases, clauses,
or sentences.
The first lexical feature of legal texts is archaism, which literally means old-fashioned style. Archaic
words belong to the formal style used by legal officers. The examples include 'pursuant to' (under, in
accordance with), 'prior to' (before), 'subsequent to' (after), 'vel non' (or not, or the lack of it)
(Garner, 1986, p. 663); 'hereinafter' (adverb), 'darraign' (verb), 'surrejoinder' (noun), 'aforesaid'
(adjective) (Williams, 2004, p. 112), 'therein' or 'hereunder' (here), 'thereof' or 'thereto' (there)
(Stanojevic, 2011, p. 69). Such words are rarely used in everyday English, but they are
understandable and widely used in legal text.
The second feature is using technical terms, which are either purely legal terms or general terms. The
term 'tort' is one of the examples of the purely legal term meaning "a civil wrong act, whether
intentional or accidental". In addition to such purely legal terms, general terms or words are also
used in legal language, but with uncommon meanings. They are polysemous lexical items that have
specific meaning within legal English, e.g., attachment, file, agreement, execute, party. These are
some of the words used by legal professionals as technical terms for their purposes in specific
contexts.
The third feature is the use of foreign words. In legal language, especially in English, many foreign
words and phrases are mainly derived from Latin and French. They underwent either the process of
transliteration or the direct borrowing process. The words which are borrowed from Latin include
“negligence, adjacent, frustrating, inferior, legal, quit, and subscribe”. The words which are borrowed
from French include “appeal, attorney, claim, complaint, counsel, court, damage, default, defendant,
demurrer, evidence, indictment, judge, jury, justice, party, plaintiff, plea, sentence, sue, verdict,
attorney general, court-martial, fee simple absolute, letters testamentary, malice aforethought, and
solicitor general”
The fourth feature is the use of synonymy. Haigh (2004, p. 40) argues that the main difficulty in
drafting a legal text is the existence of many synonyms that refer to the same legal concept such as
assign – transfer, breach – violation, clause – provision – paragraph – article, contract – agreement,
default – failure, lessee – tenant, promise – assurance – undertaking, void – invalid – ineffective.
Because consistency in using a particular diction is hard to achieve, legal texts often contain different
words that refer to the same meaning.
The fifth feature is the repetition of words, which is mainly motivated by the absence of anaphoric
reference in legal texts. Anaphoric reference is avoided although it is commonly used in other
registers through personal pronouns, demonstrative adjectives, and demonstrative pronouns.
The first syntactic feature of legal language is sentence length. The unusual length and complexity
characterize a legal sentence. Such unusual structure is caused by every part of a legal document
consisting of a single sentence.
The second feature is the frequent use of nominalization, a process of forming nouns from words,
groups, phrases, or clauses (Rosa, Sofyan, & Tarigan, 2018, p. 66). Nouns derived from verbs are
frequently used instead of verbs, such as 'to give punishment' instead of 'to punish', 'to be in
opposition' rather than 'to oppose', or 'to be in agreement' instead of 'to agree'. Although it is better
to avoid using nominalization as it results in a long and non-dynamic text (Haigh, 2004, p. 44), it is
hard to eliminate nominalization in writing a legal text. Instead of saying 'to arbitrate', lawyers prefer
to say 'to go on arbitration' because arbitration is a legally defined procedure and should be
considered as such.
The third feature is impersonal style. The use of passive voice and anomalous use of pronouns
characterize a highly impersonal style of writing (Williams, 2004, p. 114; Rosa et al., 2018, p. 64).
Passive voice is obviously inherent in legal language; nevertheless, it is often overused in all types of
legal texts. As a result of overusing passive voice, personal pronouns (particularly first person
singular) are often omitted, showing the efforts of judges to achieve maximum objectivity. In
addition, a second singular person is also often omitted; as a result, the use of the third person
singular and plural is predominant
i) a legal translator must acquire a basic knowledge of the legal systems applicable both in the SL and
TL; (ii) a legal translator must be familiar with the relevant terminology; and (iii) a legal translator
must be competent in the TL-specific legal writing style. Such competencies are needed to minimize
possible misinterpretation of legal system terminology used in the TT because the legal translation
products will have legal effects and legal consequences.
legal translators should neither provide legal advice nor solve legal problems but they merely
translate and facilitate communication across linguistic, cultural, and legal barriers through the
medium of language

i) Use Google Translate to get the literal translation of the word/phrase.

(ii) Google the literal translation to see whether it is widely used or known in English legal texts.
(iii) If the term is not well recognized, the Google search space usually provides several possible
articles that contain the term having a close meaning to the term searched
(iv) Read those few related articles and find the term that possibly has the same meaning as the term
searched. Understanding the context where such a term is used is extremely required.
(v) Re-search the term in other articles to make sure that the term is widely used in legal English
texts. This is also useful to determine whether the meaning contained in the term corresponds to its
original meaning.
(vi) If the term is used in most English legal texts, use it in the TT.
The second strategy is finding the proposition of the legal sentence. This is particularly helpful in the
process of decoding the ST. Finding the proposition of the ST makes it easier for the translator to
rewrite the ST meaning in the TL.
The third strategy is using a description technique. This is particularly helpful in translating
Indonesian legal terminology with no established equivalent in English. However, the description
should not be too long as an extended description might lead the TL reader's immediate attention to
the meaning of the term and pay less attention to the content. In addition, it is better to write the
description in a phrase rather than in a clause.
The fourth strategy is employing a functional approach. The approach allows producing similar legal
effects contained in the ST. Different types of legal texts obviously have different social functions.
Different social functions employ different specialized legal terms; in other words, contracts have
different functions from deeds, criminal case minute entries have different functions from court
proceedings, and so forth. Employing a functional approach shows that, as Stepanova (2017) argued,
a translator is well informed in legal matters of both SL and TL cultures. This idea implies that
translation experience plays a role in producing accurate translated legal texts.

Legal Translation: Challenges and Solutions

Challenge #1: Do you really need to translate that entire stack of documents? This may be more of a challenge
for the client than the translator, but an inexperienced translator wouldn’t know how to deal with the sheer
volume of documents that go into just one court case. A translator qualified and experienced in legal
translation is fluent in law as well as the source and target languages. Being able to tell which documents are
superfluous or simply don’t need to be translated is a skill that saves both time and money. Not just any
translator can do this, so make sure you work with one that specializes in legal translation.

Challenge #2: How different are the legal systems of the countries involved? While most countries share a lot of
the same features in their legal systems, assuming that certain things don’t change can lead to very bad
consequences. The legal language of a text or document is influenced greatly by the culture of the country,
which also influences the structure of the legal system. This means that an understanding of both the culture of
the source and target languages as well as the legal systems of both is necessary to even begin a legal
translation. Certain legal concepts can be phrased completely differently from one country to the next, but an
in-depth knowledge of both legal systems as well as the terminologies in both languages makes for accurate
translations.

Challenge #3: What is a “verbatim” legal translation? Often, legal translators will be asked by lawyers, judges,
and anyone else involved in a case to render a “verbatim” translation of a document. For anyone who knows a
bit about translation, it becomes clear here that many people who work in the legal field don’t quite
understand how translation works. A verbatim translation would mean the translator would have to look at
every single word and translate them all individually, ignoring the overall concepts and meanings in the source
text. Luckily, translators know that what these lawyers and judges mean is they want a translation that is
accurate and faithful to the meaning and context of the original. This is what legal translators do best.

What kind of Documents do Legal Translators Work with?

1.Contracts
With companies in basically every industry globalizing, or getting ready to globalize, we will
be seeing more and more international business partnerships. This means contracts will be
drawn up between companies that may not speak the same language. As a contract is a
legally binding agreement between two or more parties and includes all of the details of this
agreement, it is extremely important that all parties involved understand exactly what it is
they are agreeing to. An accurate translation of the contract must be provided to ensure that
there are no misunderstandings.
2. Legislation/Regulation
If a company decides to branch out and open up shop in another country, they had better
know exactly what to expect in terms of the legislation and regulations there. If the country
happens to use a different language, then it is essential that all of these regulations and
pieces of legislation be translated in order to be understood by everyone in the company.
The worst situations tend to arise from cultural and linguistic misunderstandings, which can
be avoided completely with proper translations of this type of legal document.
3. Immigration
Sometimes, a client needs help going through the immigration process in a country where
they do not know the language. In this kind of situation, the job of the legal translator is to
make sure they accurately render any legal information the immigrant would need to know
in order to understand their rights and what the process will include. An inaccurate
translation would result in many complications and a lot of frustration, so it is best to choose
to work with a very experienced legal translator for immigration documents.
4. Litigation
Sometimes, court cases don’t fit neatly within the country borders we have on the map, and
spill over into other nations. When this happens, the already complicated litigation process
becomes even more so with the addition of a new language and legal system. A translator
who specializes in legal translation is there to solve the issues of different languages and
legal systems so that the case can be resolved and justice doled out accordingly.
So much depends on accurate word choices to communicate important information into
foreign languages. Therefore, the selection of your Language Service Provider is of utmost
importance. Your language partner must provide linguistic expertise in the following
domains:
Intellectual Property Law
Bankruptcy Law
International Law
Corporate Law
Tax Law
Environmental Law
Immigration Law
Criminal Law
Personal Injury Law
Civil Rights Law
Military Law
Labor Law
4. Patent Translation
For patent translation, your Language Service Provider should provide full and accurate
translations at a competitive price and be able to:
 Translate filings to virtually any language
 Reduce litigation risks with subject specialists experienced in patent work
 Thoroughly review patent literature filed on a global basis

Patent translators can spend hours looking for the right translation of an obscure or illegible
character, word, or technical term. Because many foreign patents include English summaries
and nearly identical patents can sometime be located in English, the correct answer can
often be found and verified quickly and accurately on the Internet. The key is knowing where
to look. This article will introduce several important resources for translating patents into
English.
5. Security & Confidentiality
Your language Service provider must understand the importance of security and
confidentiality in the legal industry and deems all disclosed data, ideas, and all sources of
oral and written information to be strictly confidential. Protection of privileged documents
and proprietary information requires legally binding non-disclosure agreements and secure
premises, servers, and networks.

THE PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATING LEGAL

DOCUMENTS
Legal texts create dilemma and challenges in the process of translation. This means that the
language of law needs experienced translators who can decode these complex texts. We
know that translation is an act of communication between text producers and text receivers
and the translator is regarded as a mediator between the two. Translators of legal
documents not only translate from one language into another language but also translate
from one legal language into another legal language. The translation of law is considered as
the important part in the contact between different people and different cultures in today’s
globalized world.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Translation of legal texts is a complex matter. It requires a competent and experienced
translator who can render them precisely and accurately into the target language. According
to Larson, legal language should not be taken on by someone who is not trained to translate
legal documents. Therefore, if one is to produce an accurate translation from one language
into another, a legal translator needs to possess extensive knowledge of both legal systems
involved. Professional translators agree, that comparative law should be introduced as a
compulsory subject in the curriculum for legaltranslators' training [2]. According to Zhang, it
provides the foundation for legal translation, which is considered more difficult than any
other type of translational activity [5]. It is not enough for the legal translators to have
information only about translating the source text's meanings, they should also be able to
understand both cultures involved along with all their nuances. That is essential in conveying
legal message meticulously. Any mistranslations or imprecise phrases may lead to severe
legal consequences. Therefore, legal translators should be competent and objective with the
ability to re-read their translation and be able to ensure that there are no hidden mistakes,
which may result in misinterpretation of the document.

Legal translation is a special and specialized area of translational activity. According to the
fact that legal translation involves law and such translation can and often does not produce
just linguistic but also legal impact and consequence because of the special nature of law
and legal language. Legal translation is a complex process that requires special skills,
knowledge and experiences on the part of the translator to produce such translation. It is a
cross-cultural and inter-lingual communicative act and as a complex human and social
behavior.

There is legal translation for normative purpose. It refers to the production of equally
authentic legal texts in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions of domestic laws, international
legal instruments and other laws. Often such bilingual or multilingual texts are first drafted in
one language and then translated into another language or languages. They may also be
drafted simultaneously in both or all languages. In either case, the different language texts
have equal legal force and one is not superior to another irrespective of their original status.
This category of legal translation may also include private documents such as contracts, the
bilingual texts of which are equally authentic in a bilingual or monolingual jurisdiction.

There is legal translation for informative purpose with constative or descriptive functions.
This includes translation of statutes, court decisions, scholarly works and other types of legal
documents if the translation is intended to provide information to the target readers. This is
most often found in monolingual jurisdictions. Such translations are different from the first
category where the translated law is legally binding. In this category, the source language is
the only legally enforceable language while the target language is not.
And there is legal translation for general legal or judicial purpose. Such translations are
primarily for information and are mostly descriptive. This type of translated document may
be used in court proceedings as part of documentary evidence. Original source language
texts of this type may include legal documents such as statements of claims or pleadings,
contracts, agreements and ordinary texts such as business or personal correspondence,
records and certificates, witness statements and expert reports etc. Such translated texts
have legal consequences attached to them due to their use in the legal process. Thus, we can
say that legal translation refers to the translation of texts used in law and legal settings.
In legal translation, due to the differences in legal systems, many of the legal terms in one
language do not correspond to terms in another. This is the problem of non-equivalence and
represents a major source of difficulty in translation. Smith, explains that “the system-bound
nature of legal text means that successful translation into another language requires
competency in at least three separate areas:
1. the legal translator must acquire a basic knowledge of the legal systems, both in the
source language and target language;
2. must possess familiarity with the relevant terminology; and
3. must be competent in the target languagespecific legal writing style”.
Translation of legal documents means rendering legal texts of the source language in to the
target language. That requires the translator to keep the legal status and communicative
purposes of the original text. It is important to bear in mind that they are not readily
transferrable into the target language texts, and the legal translator should seek the meeting
point between the two legal systems involved while producing a translation. There are
several different classifications of legal translation proposed by different scholars. Deborah
Cao divides translation of legal texts into the following categories in her book Translating
Law [1]:
1) translation of domestic statutes and international documents;
2) translation of private legal documents;
3) translation of legal scholarly works;
4) translation of the case law.
As seen above, without these competencies, the translator’s rendition will be a word-for-
word translation that is often incomprehensible.

The Challenges and Opportunities of Legal

Translation and Translator Training in the 21st Century
Translators, on the other hand, remain largely invisible, posing the question: “Who are the
invisible translators and, more importantly, who are the monitors of such translation,
ensuring the quality and integrity of the tasks performed? And above all, who may be
considered a qualified or competent legal translator?” (p. 313). Court translators and
interpreters or those who work in international organizations such as the United Nations
have more immediate visibility and have, perhaps, advanced more in terms of recognition
and organization of their professional practice. Translators who work as freelancers or for
agencies, translating the multitude of documents that citizens require on a daily basis,
however, are in a far worse situation. This invisibility and the fragmented nature of the
profession are partly to blame for legal translators’ current situation. Legal translators do,
however, exist and have been practicing their profession for centuries.
Challenges and Opportunities for Legal Translation
Legal translators, however, do face some unique problems in their field.
Legal Translation and Technology
Translators who still work mainly with original texts delivered on paper, signed and sealed by
the authorities, are unlikely to receive these texts in digital format and hence, find will find
less use for translation memories and computer-aided translation tools. Nevertheless, these
tools are a vital part of communication today, and legal translators need to embrace their
use, when pertinent, and overcome their trepidation toward IT while also recognizing its
limitations.
Legal Translation and the Profession
The challenge now facing legal translators is the metamorphosis from producing a product
(the legal translation) to providing a much wider service that draws on all the competences
used in translation.
Translators are intercultural mediators, and legal translators are ideally positioned to
collaborate with their clients and demonstrate that they can provide solutions rather than
representing a problem in the communication flow. This requires serious changes in legal
translators’ mind-set. Translators have traditionally awaited their clients’ call rather than
actively building up a client base and marketing their services. The translation profession
seems to have spiraled into a paradoxical situation in which the translators themselves have
a negative self-concept in relation to other professions (Way, 2002, 2004, in press).8 This
negative self-concept has been reinforced by the traditional isolation caused by being
excluded as a social agent in communicative situations requiring translation.
Charging for Legal Translation

Quality in Legal Translation

Quality and excellence are buzzwords that pervade businesses and professions today.
Obviously, poor or inadequate legal translations will have drastic consequences for clients,
because translated texts affect their lives directly. The poor general perception of legal
translators is, in part, due to elevated expectations for quality, which hinge on the fact that
legal translation demands enormous expertise in all the elements of translator competence,
particularly in thematic or field competence (law), but also in intercultural and
communicative competence given the complexity of the legal systems and cultures and the
legal languages involved. Much debate is under way concerning quality in the translation
market, with particular attention being paid to defining exactly what a quality legal
translation is and, more importantly, how quality is to be assured and who is qualified to
assess such quality
Legal Translators and Society
Legal translation is one field where translators’ work may have an immediate impact,
affecting people’s lives directly. We contend that translation studies research may be
undertaken that will have an impact on not only translation practices but the society in
which we live and where we act as intercultural communicators, and thus as social agents.
These examples illustrate how results of research involving the legal translation profession
have provided the opportunity for translators to perform as mediators, actively participating
in society, by modifying the social processes under scrutiny.
Legal Translators and Ethics
A serious conflict may arise when translating legal texts: the dilemma of what to do when
one encounters practices that lead to social injustice. It is the translator’s job to reflect the
author’s intentions and to deliver the best possible rendering of the original text.
Nevertheless, translators are social agents who participate not only in the communication
process but in society as a whole. The fact that translators hold a particularly privileged
vantage point to discover anomalies in translated texts, or to observe the difficulties posed
when citizens of different countries are faced with legal and administrative obstacles, often
as immigrants, has been a source of debate and uncertainty among legal translators.
Although codes of ethics do exist for legal (especially court) interpreters, this thorny subject
has remained largely untouched by translators.
Legal Translator Training in the 21st Century
One of the greatest challenges for legal translation in the 21st century is to train qualified,
highly proficient legal translators

Until the 1990s, little had been written about legal translator training. Since
Gémar (1979) defended the fact that legal translators can actually be trained,
Sparer (1988) noted that legal translators can be trained without necessarily
being legal experts, and Hickey (1996) proposed legal translator training that
established a series of rules applicable to various situations or circumstances
based on his experience in both law and translation, a considerable amount of
literature has been written.
Legal translator training must obviously face all the challenges mentioned above,
and it does, in fact, integrate them into training programs. Here, nevertheless, I
will describe the fundamentals of how to approach a legal translation and the
ever-present concerns that haunt all trainees: decision making and uncertainty.
In an endeavor to encourage trainees to integrate all their competences in the
later stages of legal translator training, two approaches have been proposed: a
critical discourse analysis approach (Way, 2003, 2005a, 2005b, 2012) combined
with a decision-making approach (Way, 2014). The combined approach is used in
a student-centered (Kiraly, 1995, 2000), project management–based
methodology that monitors the trainees’ individual translator competence
development (Way, 2008a, 2009).
There are three main reasons for the continuing difficulties encountered by legal
translator trainees:
1. an obsession with words due to their prior pedagogical translation experience
in language learning or
2. an obsession with terminology in later stages of their training and
3. lack of vital experience.
LEGAL TRANSLATION: PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS
Fundamentals of Legal Language
Dis)Advantages of Analytic and Synthetic Languages
The Whirl of Legal Lexis
According to Popovič (1977), three levels of lexis can be distinguished in legal
discourse: (a) the level of general language, including grammar and syntactical
structures common to both fictional and non-fictional writing; (b) the level of
terminology which includes specialised vocabulary and phrases of the branch, (c)
the level of formal or scientific language including syntactical structures used
principally in non-fictional writing.11 Many researchers find the level of
terminology most striking.
2.2.1 Terminology

2.2.2 Beyond Terminology

The complexity of legalese is not limited to legal and other terminologies. The
complexity of legal English is aggravated with Latinisms, Norman / French terms,
the use of adverbs (hereinafter, thereto, hereunto, hereunder, thereof, hereby,
therewith, whereof, etc.), oldfashioned participles (aforementioned, aforesaid,
aforegoing, foregoing, etc.), euphemisms (both old: detained at her majesty’s
pleasure, act of God, and contemporary ones: abortion, execute, euthanasia,
etc.), and modern colloquialisms (insider dealing, hacking, etc.).
2.3 (Un)Intended Ambiguity
According to Holland and Webb (2003), “the extent to which the law relies upon its own language is a very basic
indication of the closed nature of legal argument.”21 Holland and Webb (2003) believe that the purpose of
‘legalese’ is to conceal rather than to enhance one’s understanding of a legal system.

Here are the principal rules to be observed in the construction of contracts,25 however, they
are proper rules to be observed in the construction of any legal texts as well:
1. When words are manifestly inconsistent with the declared purpose and object of the
contract, they will be rejected.
2. The plain, ordinary, and popular sense of the words is to be preferred to more unusual,
etymological, and recondite meaning or even to the literal and strictly grammatical
construction of the words, where these last would lead to any inefficacy or inconsistency.
3. When a peculiar meaning has been stamped upon the words by the usage of a particular
trade or place in which the contract occurs, such technical or peculiar meaning will prevail.
6. All contracts made in general terms, in the ordinary course of trade, are presumed to
incorporate the usage and custom of the trade to which they relate.26
3. Principles of Success
The principal challenge facing legal translators is transforming the source text content into comprehensible input
and, on processing it, generating comprehensible output in the target language.
It is <…> agreed, that a translation ought exactly to express the original; that it should neither be too free nor too
servile; that it should neither deviate into long circumlocutions, which weaken the ideas, nor adhere too strictly
to the letter, which debates the sentiment…
How to apply comparative law to legal translation
Juritraductology, a field of study developed by the Cerije in 2012, offers a new crossdisciplinarity,
building bridges between translation studies and law. Combining theories makes it thus possible
to establish the required connection between the legal right to translate and legal translation,
which form the bedrocks of juritraductology. In other words, the juritraductological thinking is
conceived as a science enabling ideas to interact with each other without any disciplinary
frontiers. The approach can encompass all laws and all languages, because only a broader
approach can help nurture the epistemological debate in this field of study and thus enrich the
targeted applications.
Before translating, the translator must understand the legal context in which the source text has
been written to fully understand the issues involved in the text and its translation. In other
words, s/he must understand why, for whom and for what purpose law is being translated in a
context (1). Then, depending on the context, s/he must be able to measure its level of legal
complexity
1. What are the different contexts for translating law?
There are mainly four legal contexts for which a translation is required. The list below is not
exhaustive.
a. In international public law
Translation is carried out within the framework of institutions and organisations, both at
international and regional level. Translating helps create a supranational regime in several
languages, for example when drafting an international treaty.
Each international or regional organization adopts its own language system to determine the
official languages it has. The number of official languages determines both the language pairs and
the volume of translation
b. In international private law
Cross-national exchanges between physical and/or legal persons with different nationalities are
governed by private international law. Increased exchanges have led to a dramatic increase in
legal translation. Key economic players expand their trade across borders, people travel and work
in a foreign country, they marry foreigners or even commit crimes and offenses abroad: the daily
life brings about many acts and deeds that need a translation. When you adopt a child abroad you
need a translation; when you transfer your patent to a foreign company, you need a translation;
when you hire a foreign worker, you need a translation.
c. In a judicial context
In a globalized world, people subject to trial can travel abroad, where again international justice
and legal cooperation is based on translation. In this context, legal translation is most frequently
carried out by sworn translators for justice services.
Judicial translation can be used in all types of proceedings, either in civil, criminal or
administrative matters. Both written and oral translations fulfil two distinctive functions
d. In a scientific context
We all live in a multilingual and translated world but we also work in a context of multilingual
and translated law.
Translation is used to expand legal knowledge on legal doctrine or normative texts (constitution,
code, laws, etc.) and court decisions. Legal translation is carried out when law is imported and
exported. We can either know a foreign law or make our own law known to the rest of the world
through translation. Translation is also an integral part of comparative law. Examples which prove
this include, for example, the translation of the description of major contemporary legal systems
into different languages, the drafting of bilingual dictionaries or the publication of the Henri
Capitant Law Review (Goré 2011 : 114).
In this context, the translator is generally both a lawyer and a comparative law specialist (Sacco
2011 : 23) and the effects of translation are important for law.
2. Le degré de juridicité - the level of legal complexity in a text
All translations do not systematically lead to legal consequences, but all legal translations, per se,
have some legal complexity. Depending on the context, these consequences are more or less
significant. From a methodological point of view, before translating a legal text, the translator
must assess the level of legal complexity of a text (
How to translate
Step 1: the semasiological step
In the semasiological step, the goal is to understand the source text and its building blocks both on
semantic and conceptual levels. As these blocks contain legal knowledge, the semasiological step
requires an in-depth documentary research into the legal system of the source language.
Understanding is a dual concomitant process: it implies understanding both source and target
languages and systems, conveying a meaning in words.
Step 2: the comparative-law step
In this respect, and prior to a correct translation, legal concepts usually require an in-depth
comparative study. The legal translator becomes " le savant exégète qui s’abîme dans les
profondeurs du texte écrit” [a scholarly expert who delves into the depths of the written text]
(Ost 2009 : 111) and into the legal system and meaning conveyed by the source language. Before
any translation, the translator should look for a possible equivalent in the target language. This
possible equivalent should fulfill the first and foremost role of translation: conveying the source
text meaning to the audience reading the target translated text.
Step 3: the onomasiological step
A translation is given in this last -but not least- step. It is about deciding which criteria carry the
equivalence. The choice consists in deciding on an acceptable term both on the linguistic and legal
levels; a large variety of translations can be given.