1.1.

Legal Translation

The translation of legal texts is a practice which began a long time ago with the
translations of the peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittite Empire in 1271 BC as well
as the translation of the Corpus Iuris Civilis and other legal texts from past centuries. As
these way of thinking hasnt been passed on in history, systematic study has only recently
begun in the field of legal translation. Many significant problems have already been
identified and there search has certainly shown its practical applications with the help of
comparative law, legal linguistics and legal data processing. (Galdia Marcus, 2003, pp.1)
Legal translation has primarily been researched through the perspective of terminology
and the question how terms from a legal system can be expressed in the equivalent terms
of another legal system.
When translating a text within the field of law, the translator should always remember
that the legal system of the source text (ST) is structured in a way that suits that culture
and this is reflected in the legal language; similarly, the target text (TT) is to be read by
someone who is familiar with the other legal system (corresponding to the jurisdiction for
which TT is prepared) and its language. Taking into consideration that not every country
has the same legal system, in some cases legal concepts do not have an equivalent in the
target language. Codes and laws have been created in order to correspond to a particular
country or culture and when the legal term does not have an equivalent in the target
language, the translator needs to recreate the concept and the whole idea attached to the
legal expression.
For this reason, the translator has to be guided by certain standards of linguistic, social
and cultural equivalence between the language used in the source text (ST) to produce a
text (TT) in the target language. Those standards correspond to a variety of different
principles defined as different approaches to translation in Translation theory. It is very
important to deliver faultless a legal translation.

















English law

Man is by nature a social being. He comes into contact with other individuals in different
capacities. These contracts or associations are an inevitable consequence of modern
civilisation. In all these associations he is expected to observe a Code of Conduct or set
of rules. The object of these set of rules is to make humans association possible and to
ensure that members of the society may live and work together in an orderly and peaceful
manner. (http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Law-Notes/953034,
http://classof1.com/homework_answers/business_law/)
Now it is time to raise the question what is law? Searching the answer we can face
different opinions and points of view: a citizen may think of law as a set of rules, which
he must obey; a lawyer who practices law may think that it is a vocation; a legislator may
look at law as at something created by him; a judge thinks that law is a guide and
principles to be applied by making decisions. So as many individuals as many opinions
about law can be found, but in the legal sense the law is a body of enforceable rules
comprising social, political, moral and economic factors intended to maintain order and
social control of society. There are different types of law including common, equity and
statute law.
Common law is the part of English law developed by judges, who make court decisions
(case law) that are binding on lower courts and are known as precedent. Common law
legal jurisdictions are widespread throughout the world in those countries formerly part
of the British Empire and now forming the Commonwealth. The common law system is
also used in the United States.
Equity is the part of English law developed in the former Courts of Chancery and
designed to mitigate the rigours of the common law. Since the Judicature Acts 1873
1875, the courts administer both common law and equitable principles, and, where there
is a conict between the rules of law and equity, the rules of equity should prevail.
Statute law is the law enacted by the legislature in the form of Acts of Parliament. The
common law system is noted for its exibility.
Common law

Common law is unwritten law, which is derived from judicial precedent and custom.
Common law is governed by the doctrine of stare decisis , which means that precedents
are binding and must be followed. Under common law, new laws are created through the
decisions made by judges. Common law incorporates elements of equity if other branches
of the law cannot provide an adequate remedy.
(http://architecturalpress.com/wp-
content/uploads/Architects_Legal_Pocketbook_Chapter1_Outline_of_Law.pdf)
The term "common law" originally derives from the reign of Henry II of England, in the
1150s and 1160s. The "common law" was the law that emerged as "common" throughout
the realm (as distinct from the various legal codes that preceded it, such as Mercian law,
the Danelaw and the law of Wessex as the king's judges followed each other's decisions
to create a unified common law throughout England.
(http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/citizen_subject/law.htm)
The doctrine of precedent developed during the 12
th
and 13
th
centuries, as the collective
judicial decisions that were based in tradition, custom and precedent.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law)
According to Duhaime's Law Dictionary: The common law is a body of English law of
law which originated with an oral tradition of tribal justice in Britain thousands of years
ago and which developed into a unique, cohesive national body of law (the realm)
developed and set to writing by English judges over time, and which was eventually
imported as the law of British colonies throughout the world such as the United States of
America (except Louisiana), Canada (except Quebec) and India.
(http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/C/CommonLaw.aspx)
Characteristic features of common law

The distinctive feature of common law is that it represents the law of the courts as
expressed in judicial decisions. The grounds for deciding cases are found in precedents
provided by past decisions, as contrasted to the civil law system, which is based on
statutes and prescribed texts. Besides the system of judicial precedents, other
characteristics of common law are the trial by jury and the doctrine of the supremacy of
the law. Originally, supremacy of the law meant that not even the king was above the
law; today it means that acts of governmental agencies are subject to scrutiny in ordinary
legal proceedings.
Judicial precedents derive their force from the doctrine of stare decisis, according to
which the previous decisions of the highest court in the jurisdiction are binding on all
other courts in the jurisdiction. Changing conditions, however, soon make most decisions
inapplicable except as a basis for analogy, and a court must therefore often look to the
judicial experience of the rest of the English-speaking world. This gives the system
flexibility, while general acceptance of certain authoritative materials provides a degree
of stability.
Nevertheless, in many instances, the courts have failed to keep pace with social
developments and it has become necessary to enact statutes to bring about needed
changes; indeed, in recent years statutes have superseded much of common law, notably
in the fields of commercial, administrative, and criminal law. Typically, however, in
statutory interpretation the courts have recourse to the doctrines of common law. Thus
increased legislation has limited but has not ended judicial supremacy. (Keeler, 2006, p.
55)