JINAN UNIVERSITY

Tripoli - Lebanon

Faculty of Literature and Humanities

Department of Translation

Title

Problems of Translating International Legal rules

Candidate

Name: ASMAA SADEQ SHAKIR

Supervisor

Dr. Maurice MOARBES

Academic year

2022/2023

10212525 :‫الرقم الجامعي‬ ASMAA SADEQ ‫اإلس<<<<<<<<<<<م الثالثي‬

: SHAKIR
 A Thesis Proposal

Problems of Translating International Legal rules

Contents:

I. Introduction …………………………………………………… 1

A. Statement of the problem ……………………………………………… 2

B. The Purpose of the Study………………………………………………… 3

C. The Significance of Study.………………………………………… 4

D. The Scope of the Study…………………………..……………… 5

E. Definition of Terms………………………………………………6

II. Review of Related Literature ……………………………………7

III. Methodology of Research…………………………………………… 8

A. The Research Design…………………………………………… 9

B. The Data…………………………………………10

C. The Research Questions………………………………………..11

IV. Research Outline…………………………………………..12

V. References …………………………………………………….….. 13
 I. Introduction

Legal translation is a specialist and technical translation which is related to

law and legal process. It refers to the rendering of legal texts from the source

language into the target language. This study illustrates that legal translation can be

classified according to different criteria. Moreover, translation of legal documents

is a complex task due to the accurate use of specialized terminology which can be

difficult. There are many difficulties in translating international legal rules such as

cultural differences, ambiguity and literal translation. First, cultural differences

play an essential role in the translation of legal texts. For example, the different

legal cultures of English and Arabic may present difficulties in the legal terms of

these two languages. The word “magistrate” means “the Judicial officer” in the

English legal system while it means “Investigation Judge” in the Iraqi legal system

“ ‫ التحقيق‬5‫( "قاضي‬Aqad 2014). Second, ambiguity is also a problem which leads to

multi-interpretations. (Alrikabi 2017) states that ambiguity is a “construction

which admits more than one interpretation”(30). for example, the term “Balfour

Declaration” is mistakenly translated into Arabic as “‫ ”وعد بلفور‬even though the

letter does not contain the word “promise” and Balfour considered it as a

“declaration of sympathy”. Dr. Anis Al. Kassim states that the correct translation is

“‫ ”تصريح بلفور‬because “‫احبه‬55‫زم لص‬5‫( ”الوعد في القانون مل‬Anis Al. Kassim 2020). Third,

Literal translation can also be problematic, for example, the American invasion of
Iraq in 2003 used legal language to justify its action: “the United States and our

allies are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction”

(Patillo 2022). The Iraqi war started because of the CIA’s mistranslation of legal

documents (Unbabel 2019). This study will analyze different translations of legal

rules chosen from the EU Treaties on the grounds of English/Arabic translation

(Jimenez 2022).

A. Statement of the Problem

The nature of legal language contributes to the complexity and difficulty in

translation. Thus there is a huge disparity between laws and rules all over the world

in terms of cultural and linguistic differences. Anyway, According to Patillo (2022)

there are two types of international laws: customary international laws and treaties

(7). So each country has different cultural and legal rules developed separately

according to its laws. (Piszcz & Sierocka 2020) state that translation of legal rules

is a difficult task because it includes translation of “cultures and systems not only

terms” (8). This study contextualizes a better investigation for the difficulties and

problems of translating international legal rules mainly from English into Arabic.
 B. The Purpose of the Study

This study will attempt to identify the problems that face legal translators. Each

legal language is the product of a special culture and society. for example, the rules

of law in Arabic do not necessarily apply to legal English rules. This requires

constant comparison between the legal systems of the source language and target

language (White 1990). The study also sheds light on the cultural differences,

which present another source of difficulty in legal translation. The study will try

also to solve the problems and challenges of translating laws through acquiring

basic knowledge regarding the legal field of specialization. The study will provide

recommendation accordingly and possible solutions to promote translation

methods especially those related to international legal rules.

C. The Significance of the Study

Recently, translation has become important especially the translation of

international laws and rules. Many research papers have been written on the

importance of legal translation. However, research on the translation of

international legal rules is open to investigate. Christopher B. Kuner discusses

cultural differences in his article, and he gives an example when President Carter

visited Poland. During his visit, his wish to "learn opinions and understand your

desires for the future" was mistakenly translated as "I desire the Poles carnally"

(176). Therefore, this study can provide information in order to comprehend the

problems in translating international rules. Each country has its own culture and

terms. Moreover, the plurality of languages causes a serious problem in

communication in the European Community (Huntington 1992).The study will also

attempt to trace these problems through the analysis of different translations. Such

problems have not been seriously discussed in previous studies. Thus this research

will help future studies to fill the gaps in solving the problems of the legal

translation.

D. The Scope of the Study

Different kinds of problems in legal translation may affect the translation

process in many ways. Nord (991) distinguishes between "cultural, linguistic and

text-specific problems" (158). (Al. Shehab 2013) indicates that legal language

“combines between originality and creativity” (20). The scope of legal translation
depends on the translated materials and in this research international rules. These

rules range from the complex sentences to unequivocal laws. Precision and

formatting are demanded greatly in translating international rules, so the translator

must comply to the rules of the target legal system (Ojeah 2016). For example,

legal rules often include precise terms which should be translated accurately to

convey the intended meaning. Translators should also maintain the formatting of

the source document in the target version such as footnotes and ident. (Haigh

2004) states that sentence length, nominalization ”the use of nouns that are derived

from verbs such as give consideration instead of to consider” and passive

sentences, which are more in English than in Arabic, are common problems in

legal translation (18).

E. Definition of Terms

Legal Rules: are laws which have been officially approved by a country or

state’s system.

The source language: is the language being translated from.

The Target language: is the language being translated into.

 Literal Translation: is direct or word-for-word translation. It is the

translation of each word separately sticking too close to the source texts.

Terminology: special terms used as a field of study which helps translators

understand specific topics and translate more efficiently. Good terminology

reduces ambiguity and makes the texts clearer.

Multilingual Documents: texts which are written in more than two different

languages.

II. Review of Literature

A large body of research to date has explored the problems of translating

legal rules and documents. This study focuses on the major difficulties of

translation in the legal field through analyzing different legal rules. It also

examines how these problems affect the process of translation. Thus this

research uncovers the obstacles facing translators such as the use of long and

passive sentences in the legal documents or using literal translation. Some

legal documents contain archaic words and expressions such as

"aforementioned, hereinabove, hereinafter" (Sofyan & Rosa 224). Another

common linguistic feature is word strings, for instance, "restraint, prohibition

or intervention". Also, sentences are typically long and complex and passive

structures are extensively used in translating legal documents (Snyder 1981).

Translating legal rules effectively is important because everyone has to obey

them. As a result, this research analyzes the legal discourse of the texts. Thus

the legal translator of international laws should be properly trained and

competent to produce an authentic text.

With this in mind, international legal translation forms a special area of legal

translation practice and should be regarded as a means of communication and

integrity (Gambier 2012). Such translations can entail translating multilingual

documents such as international instruments of the UN involving several languages

and translating bilateral treaties involving two languages (Giambruno 2011). It is

common that the vocabulary stock of the translators is their most important tool.

Thus competent knowledge of language grammar and terminology can aid

translators in transferring ideas and meanings. On the other hand, the translators’

style and cultural background can help them transfer the language and create new
messages. It is known that legal translation is both complex and difficult for many

reasons. This study will attempt to highlight the main factors which make

translation of international legal rules difficult. It also sheds light on different

levels of methods of legal translation produced internationally.

Sofer (2006) stresses “the importance of writing skills, specializations in

a legal field and knowledge of good legal reference resources” (106-107). Again,

Trosborg (1997) focuses on the great …of legal terminology highlighting the need

for a legal background (156). Murici (2016) indicates that translators of legal

documents should overcome the cultural and linguistic barriers in order to

“facilitate communication” (72). This study also examines a list of problems which

face legal translation in terms of accuracy and authenticity.

III. METHODOLOGY of Research

The current study will utilize analytical and descriptive approaches to

investigate the problems of legal translation. The study will attempt to examine
these problems by analyzing the legal texts and rules linguistically and

semantically.

The study also provides different translations of English legal texts and

documents which offer a comparative analysis of the target translations in order to

identify the linguistic and cultural problems between English and Arabic. This

study will then analyze and discuss these translations and evaluate them.

A. The Research Design

The design of this research explores its questions and fulfils the purpose of the

study. The researcher will adopt international translations of legal texts and rules

and analyze them. The analysis focuses on the translation process to identify the

problems and difficulties. Ambiguity and cultural differences in the translation

process are considered as primary problems. The study will use samples of legal

translations to analyze the cultural and linguistic differences obtained from the

source and target texts.

B. The Data

This study has a theoretical background and research hypothesis. Various

data collection tools and methods are presented in this research. In other words,

legal translation is analyzed as a problematic process and the study offers different

solutions which can meet the needs of translators. The focus is on the translation

process and how this process is used to integrate related data, identify the common

problems and find appropriate solutions. The researcher will select different

international legal rules from the United Nations and the European Union in order

to analyze them.

C. The Research Questions

The study will attempt to answer the following questions:

- What are the basic requirements for effective and good translation of legal

rules?

- What are the challenges and problems in legal translation?

- Do these problems result in translation errors or gaps?

 - What is the significant role of culture in translating legal documents?

- How to increase the legal translator’s integrity and accuracy?

- What is the useful steps for legal translators to follow?

IV. Research Outline

This thesis will be written in four chapters. Chapter one is the

introduction and it will consist of the introduction part, statement of the problem,

research questions, research hypotheses, significance and scope of the study and

definition of key terms. Chapter two, a review of the literature, will introduce legal

translation, different views on legal translation and the problems of translating

international legal rules, as well as related studies about legal translation. Chapter

three, methodology, will introduce the international rules of the United Nations and

the European Union and will explain the procedure, design and method of data

analysis. The fourth chapter, results and discussion of the findings and will present

the conclusion and suggestions for further research.

V. References

Al Aqad, M.H. (2014). Translation of Legal Texts between Arabic and English:

The Case Study of Marriage Contracts. University of Malaya, Malaysia.

Al. Kassim, Anis. (2020). Balfour Declaration in International Law. Al. Natour

Center For Studies & Research.

Al. Shehab, Mohammad. (2013). The Translatability of English legal sentences

into Arabic by using Google translation. International Journal of English

Language and Linguistics Research. Vol.1,pp.18-31.

Alrikabi, S.H. (2017). Legal Translation: The Translation of Contracts from Arabic

to English. South Ural State University.

Gambier, Yves (2012). "Teaching Translation/Training Translation" In Handbook

of Translation Studies. Volume 3, edited by Yves Ganbier and Luc Van

 Doorslaer, 163-71. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Giambruno, Cynthia (2011). "Selecting Candidates for Legal Interpreting and

Translation Training". In Building Mutual Trust: A Framework Project

for Implementing EU Common Standards in Legal Interpreting and

Translation, edited by Brooke Townsley, 23-51. London: Middlesex

University.

Haigh, R. (2004). Legal English. Cavendish Publishing Limited, London.

Huntington, Robert (1992). European Unity and the Tower of Babel. 9 B.U. INT'L.

L.J. 321-327.

Jimenez, Maria. (2022). The European Union as an International Legal Actor: The

Duty of Cooperation in the Context of its Participation in other International

Organizations. Madrid.
Kuner, Christopher B. (1991). Linguistic Equality in International Law:

Miscommunication in the Gulf Crisis. 2 IND. INT'L and COMP, L, REV.

175.

Murici, M. (2016). Issues in Translating Legal Texts. International Journal of

English Language & Translation Studies, 4(3), 69-74.

Nord, Christiane. 1991. Text Analysis in Translation. Theory, Methodology and

Didactic Application of a Model for Translation -Oriented Text Analysis.

2nd ed. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Ojeah, Victor. (2016). The International Legal Regime on States’ Interaction in

Cyber Space. University of Benin, Benin City.

Patillo, Silvia (2022). Theories of compliance with international law. MA:

University of Kansas.
Piszcz, A & Sierocka, H. (2020). The Role of Culture in Legal Languages, Legal

Interpretation and Legal Translation. University of Bialystok, Poland. 533-

542.

Sakareva, Ivanka. (2020). Difficulties and some problems in translating legal

documents.

Snyder, William H (1981). "Linguistics and Translation, in Translation Spectrum:

Essays in Theory and Practice". M.G. Rose ed, State University of New

York Press.

Sofer Morry. 2006. The Translator's Handbook. Rockville: Schreiber Publishing.

Sofyan, Rudy & Rosa, N. Rusdi. (2021). Problems and Strategies in Translating

Legal Texts. Centre for Humanities Studies. Vol. 20. Pp.221-232.

Trosborg, Anna. 1997. Rhetorical Strategies in Legal Language: Discourse

 Analysis of Statutes and Contracts. Tubingen: Gunter Narr.

Unbabel (2019). Translation mistakes that led to war. Resources. Unbabel. Com.

White, James Boyd (1990). "Justice as Translation: An Essay in Cultural And

Legal Criticism". The University of Chicago Press.