LECTURE 1

Outline of the course:

1. Characteristics of Legal English and Legal Translation (Deborah Cao, Translating Law, p. 8-23)
2. The British and Romanian legal systems
3. Translating Legal Documents: Power of Attorney, Contracts

Introduction

Legal translation

Legal translation is a type of technical, non-literary translation, it involves the use of Language for Specific
Purposes, or language for legal purposes (LLP)

 It has legal implications => accuracy is crucial

 Principle of Accuracy in Translation: to translate accurately means to translate without loss, without
adding extra information to the text, “without distortion or embellishment” (without changing the
meaning of the text and avoiding the temptation to make the target text more “pleasant” for the reader.

The legal translator should have a basic understanding of law (i.e. the main features of the Anglo-
American system of law and the legal system of his own country)

What is that we have to translate?

1) domestic statutes and international treaties - laws produced by various authorities

2) private legal documents - can you think of examples? academic transcripts, wills, power of attorney
3) company legal documents - articles of incorporation, act constitutiv, act de constituire, contracts
4) correspondence - between lawyers and clients

Purposes

1) prescriptive or normative : in the case of bilingual or multilingual statutes or laws which establish legal
obligations and rights

2) informative : translation of law textbooks or journal articles, correspondence

 Is it important to establish the purpose of each legal text?

Yes, because it might influence the translation.- making the text more explicit vs focusing on accuracy
 Is it the case that the purpose of the legal text in the source language is transferred into the target
language?
It's not necessarily the case that the purpose of the legal text in the source language is transferred into
the target language - they might differ.

1) Legal translation for normative purposes

 Authenticity
 Equal legal force

1) Legal translation for normative purposes refers to translating law texts that become equally authentic.

Such texts may be first drafted in one language and then translated or may be drafted simultaneously into two or
several languages.

In either case, the different language texts have equal legal force and one is not superior to another irrespective
of their original status.

Such texts go through an authentication process by manner of which they become the law

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Examples of these are the legislation in the bilingual jurisdictions of Canada and Hong Kong, the multilingual
legal instruments of the UN, and the multilingual laws of the EU.

In the case of the EU - 24 official languages - 27 member states

(Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian,
Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian Spanish Swedish)

procedural languages of the EU, used in the EU institutions - English, French and German

the authentic language versions of EU laws, are equivalent since they have the same legal force and value and
can be invoked indiscriminately in appeals

They are usually drafted in English or French first to be translated into the other official languages. Nevertheless,
they all have equal legal force.

2) Legal translation for informative purposes

 Target language text - Legally binding?

Such texts are simply meant to inform, they are not legally binding; the source language text is legally binding
whereas the target language text is not. For instance, a statute written in French from France translated into
English for informative purpose for the benefit of foreign lawyers or other English readers is not legally
enforceable. This is different from the first category where, for instance, a statute written in French in the
bilingual jurisdiction of Canada is translated into English or vice versa and where both the French and English
versions are equally authentic.

Characteristics of Legal Language

1) Prescriptive - illocutionary force?

Modal verbs – The 2 parties shall negotiate in good faith

The language used from law or legal sources is largely prescriptive, it is normative language. Its function is to
direct people's behaviour - legal texts have to speak with authority, the language is going to be imperative &
directive

2) Performative

Words are not only something we use to say things, we also use them to do things.
Law relies heavily on performative utterances. Legal consequences are commonly obtained by merely uttering
certain words, as regularly pronounced in court.

(1) ‘You are guilty’ The court is now in session/the court is now adjourned – declar deschisa sendinta de
judecata
(2) ‘You are fined $1000’

Agree, admit, pronounce, uphold, undertake, swear, affirm, overrule,

(3) Both parties to the contract hereby agree to the following conditions
(4) The Board of Trustees does hereby confer upon John Smith the degree of...
(5) I hereby solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

3) Specialised Lexicon

The legal vocabulary in each language is often extensive. It reflects the law of the particular legal system
concerned.

In translation, due to the differences in legal systems, many of the legal terms in one language do not correspond
to terms in another => the problem of non-equivalence, a major source of difficulty in translation.

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Latinisms

 Forum non conveniens

The authors of the 1988 Convention had to take into

account the profound differences between the internal laws
of different countries: to start with, certain States look at
the order in which the proceedings are brought, while
others apply the rule of forum non conveniens.

 Ultra vires /ˌʌltrə ˈvʌɪriːz/

Pleas in law: Infringement of Articles 8(1)(b) Council

Regulation No 207/2009 as the Board of Appeal
failed to conclude that there was similarity between
the goods and services covered by the Community
trade mark concerned, on one hand, and the goods
covered by the trade mark cited in the opposition
proceedings, on the other hand; misuse of power as
the Board of Appeal acted ultra vires; 

 Bona fide / ˌbəʊnə ˈfʌɪdi/

Furthermore, the applicant claims that the

Commission, in adopting the contested decision,
sought to defeat a related claim for damages made
by the applicant in Case T-125/08 (5 ), pending
before the Court, and was therefore not bona fide.

 Prima facie /ˈpraɪmə feɪʃiː/

The request pursuant to Article 11(3) is

based on prima facie evidence, provided by the
applicant, that the circumstances on the basis of
which the existing measures were imposed have
changed and that these changes are of a lasting
nature.

Terms of French or Norman origin

After the Norman invasion of 1066 justice was administered in Norman French.

 On parole = en liberte conditionelle, gegen ehrenwort freigelassen en libertad condicional – liberare

conditionata
 Salvage  /ˈsalvɪdʒ/ - remuneratie pentru salvarea unei nave/asistenta oferita unei nave

(...) a dispute
concerning the payment of remuneration claimed in
respect of the salvage of a cargo or freight, in the
court under the authority of which the cargo or
freight in question 

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  Pilotage /pilɔtaʒ/ - payment for a pilot who navigates a vessel in and out of a port through a river
or channel

Member States are invited to create a regulatory

framework which would permit
easier pilotage exemptions. 

 Damages - despagubiri
First, annulment of the Commission decisions not to
award the applicant any priority points under the
2003 promotion procedure; to reject his appeal to the
Promotions Committee seeking the award of priority
points of any description; and to refuse to award
priority points for work in the interest of the
institution and, second, a claim for damages. 

Archaic expressions

An action sounding in damages = one brought by an unpaid creditor for damages rather than simply to recover
the debt = actiune in instanta in vederea acordarii de daune/despagubiri

the defendant cannot be heard to say // It does not lie in the defendant’s mouth to say that... = the
defendant (acuzat, parat, inculpat) does not have the competence or right to say that...

Formal vocabulary

Imbibe =
Inquire =
Peruse =
Forthwith =
Impugn =
An attempt was made to impugn the validity of a private Act of Parliament
 Brethren / brother judges = judges referring to colleagues of the same rank

In superior courts British judges refer to their fellows as my learned friend

Spanish judges are called – su senoria
In Romanian courts of law - persoana care se adresează instanţei trebuie să stea în picioare şi să utilizeze ca
formulă de adresare sintagma „domnule/ doamna preşedinte". – presedintele completului de judecata

Archaic adverbs and prepositional phrases

Compound adverbs based on the deictics – here, there, where and often referring to the text or document in
which they appear

Hereinafter =
The Legislative Assembly shall consist of… members, who shall be elected for the several electoral districts
hereinafter named and defined.
Thereunder =
The claimants will rely on the 1967 Act and the Regulations made thereunder.
Hereby
I hereby pronounce you man and wife
Thereby =
Students perform in hospitals, thereby gaining a deeper awareness of the therapeutic power ofmusic
Whereby =
a system whereby people could vote by  telephone
Thereunto =

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His agent thereunto lawfully authorized  in writing or by will

Prepositional phrases

Pursuant to –
Without prejudice to
The payment was made without  any prejudice to her rights
Subject to =
At the motion/at the instance of = Notwithstanding =
notwithstanding the evidence – in pofida probelor existente

Redundancy = doublets or triplets

The purpose is to suggest intensification
Sometimes the doublets are simply tautological = a distinction without a difference. If this is how the trnalsator
interprets it = then you can simplify them or reproduce them

Without let or hindrance = without any impediment whatsoever=

 False and untrue

 Sole and exclusive
 Request and require
 Seriously and gravely
 Alter and change
 Final and conclusive
 Null and void
 Known and distinguished as
 Force and effect = have no force and effect
 Last will and testament
 Have and hold
 Each and every
 In the name and for the account of
 Fit and proper =
 Full and complete
 Fair and equitable
 Aid and abet
 Goods and chattels
 Full, true and correct =
 Rest, residue and remainder =
 Give, devise and bequeath = the last clause in a will beginning I GIVE DEVISE BEQUEATH AND
APPOINT ...
 Cancel, annul and set aside

Technical terms

 Tort /tɔːt/
The law applicable should also govern the
question of the capacity to incur
liability in tort/delict. 

Public nuisance (tulburarea linistii publice) and libel (calomnie) are torts
Tort = delict, fapta ilicita,

Tort liability = raspundere delictuala

Tort law = dreptul raspunderii civile delictuale

 Promissory Estoppel /i’stapl/

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 Sixth plea in law, alleging infringement of the
principle of estoppel, referring to the prohibition on a
public authority from contradicting itself to the
detriment of third parties. 

One translation of the English term promissory estoppel in Romanian is inadmisibilitatea probelor împotriva
propriilor declaraţii anterioare.

Sub-technical or mixed terms

Words and phrases from the common language that have acquired additional meanings in the context of legal
activity

(6)The testator died without issue .

(7) The parties could not agree on this issue.
(8) The passport was issued by the Liverpool office
(9) Parties must wait for process to issue from the court.

4) Syntactic complexity

= multiple subordination, postponement of the main verb/main cluse until late in the sentence

You can either retain the format at the risk of incomprehensibility and ambiguity or break down the long
sentences into their component parts prior to translation

With regard to the reiterated argument that the

recent change in the exchange rate
between USD and EUR led to a significant increase in
the price of the imported PET and consequently the
Union industry allegedly does not need to be granted
protection by trade defence measures, it is noted that
any anti-subsidy investigation normally does not take
into account the post IP developments; unless, in
extraordinary situations, it can be shown, inter alia, that
they are of a lasting nature and would
significantlyalter the findings of the case. 

5) Abundant use of the passive

(10) Payment must be made within seven days

(11) The accused was found guilty.

The stress is on the action, rule or decision rather than on the personality of the doer. We should try to preserve
this effect in translation

6) Conditionals

In texts like statutes, contracts and handbooks containing procedural rules many situations must be provided for
 Many conditional adverbials

Conjunctions: If, when, where, whenever, provided that... in the event that....assuming that, so long as...
Negative conjunctions: unless, failing, should..not ...except but for...

(12) Where either party fails to perform their side of the bargain, then, subject to clause 15 above, if notice of
non-performance is given in writing...

In the event that the exporter or broker suspects or ought to

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 suspect, given the circumstances, that dual-use items not listed
in Annex I to the Council Regulation, which it intends to
export, or with respect to which it intends to provide
brokering services, are wholly or in part intended for any of
the uses listed in Article 4(1) of the Council Regulation or for
military end-uses in any of the countries listed in Article 4(1)
of the Council Regulation, it shall inform the Ministry of that
fact,

7) The use of the suffixes -er/-or vs. -ee

-er or –or and ee added to the appropriate verb to form the names of the active and passive parties
Obligor / obligee. / ˈɒblɪɡɔː/ vs /ɒblɪˈdʒiː/
Grantor / grantee
Mortgagor / mortgagee = / mɔːɡɪˈdʒɔ/ /mɔːɡɪˈdʒiː/