Legal translation

WHY?

The English language is now the dominant language in many translations of law, as in the case of multilingual international instruments such as those formulated under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) and also in bilateral agreements. In the latter case, even when the official languages of the two countries concerned do not include English, in many bilateral agreements, the English text is often included as an authentic text.

English is also the language used in most international trade documents.

Besides,English is the language of the Common Law. Legislative drafting in English has also had a major influence over the drafting of multilateral instruments today.

WHY?

A good illustration of the increasing role that legal translation plays is found in the European Union (EU). Multilingualism and linguistic equality among its Member States has been one of the foundational principles and practices since the inception of the EU. Linguistic and cultural diversity is what gives the EU its specific character (Wilson 2003: 2). The European Parliament, as the legislature, makes laws that become national laws and have direct binding force on the citizens of the Member States. EU laws are translated and published in its Member States’ official languages. Thus, translation is indispensable for the functioning of the European Parliament. As pointed out, EU laws are inconceivable without translation (Correia 2003: 40).

WHY?

It is obvious that translation is integral to the interaction in law and other spheres between different peoples and cultures.

CLASSIFICATION

Legal translation can be further classified according to different criteria

We may distinguish four major variants or sub-varieties of legal texts in the written form: (1) legislative texts, e.g. domestic statutes and subordinate laws, international treaties and multilingual laws, and other laws produced by law making authorities;

(2) judicial texts produced in the judicial process by judicial officers and other legal authorities

(3) legal scholarly texts produced by academic lawyers or legal scholars in scholarly works and commentaries whose legal status depends on the legal systems in different jurisdictions;

(4) private legal texts that include texts written by lawyers, e.g. contracts, leases, wills and litigation documents, and also texts written by non lawyers, e.g. private agreements, witness statements and other documents produced by non-lawyers and used in litigation and other legal situations.