THE ROLE OF LEGAL TRANSLATION IN LEGAL HARMONIZATION
by:  C. J. W. Baaij
Nine distinguished contributors, all leading experts and scholars in multilingual EU Law making, legal translation studies, comparative law or European (private) law, explore and analyse the legal translation praxis within EU legislative institutions appropriate for the purpose of legal harmonization, and examine both the potential and limitations of legal translation in the context of the developments of a single but multilingual EU Legal language. Among the many issues that arise for in-depth analysis in the course of the discussion are the following:

• defining ‘drafting quality’
• translating legal concepts beloning to specific legal systems
• EU Policies on harmonization of national contract laws
• legal uniformity vs. uniformity of interpretation and application
• the effect of full harmonization clauses
• proportion between general language vocabulary and legal terminology and
• role of English in the EU and the aims of the EU institutions.

The book concludes with a synthesis of the findings and reconmmendations of the various contributions. Most of the chapters were originally presented at a conference organized in January 2011 by the Amsterdam Circle for Law & Language (ACLL) and the Centre for the Study of European Contract Law (CSECL).

Contents

List of Contributors.

List of Abbreviations.

Preface.

Chapter 1: The Significance of Legal Translation for Legal Harmonization Cornelis – J.W. Baaij.

Chapter 2: Legal Harmonization Through Legal Translation: Texts that Say the Same Thing? – Ingemar Strandvik.

Chapter 3: ‘Co-revision’: Legal-Linguistic Revision in the European Union ‘Co-decision’ Process – Manuela Guggeis and William Robinson.

Chapter 4: Coping with the Challenges of Legal Translation in Harmonization – Susan Sarčević.

Chapter 5: A Dictionary for Legal Translation – Marta Chromá.

Chapter 6: The Influence of Problems of Legal Translation on Comparative Law Research  – Gerard-Rene´ de Groot.

Chapter 7: Understanding Legal Languages: Linguistic Concerns of the Comparative Lawyer  – Jaakko Husa.

Chapter 8: English as a Legal Lingua Franca in the EU Multilingual Context – Barbara Pozzo.

Chapter 9: Conclusions- Cornelis – J.W. Baaij.

Bibliography.

Table of Legislation.

Table of Cases.

Index.

August 2012,  ISBN 9041137963
ISBN 13: 9789041137968
256 pp. Hardcover

Legal Translation in Context:  Professional Issues and Prospects

Borja Albi, Anabel / Prieto Ramos, Fernando (eds)

What does it take to be a legal translator? What is expected of legal translation professionals in the public and private sectors? Following recent developments in the field, there is a need to take stock of professional settings, skills and related training needs. This volume offers a systematic overview of the diverse professional profiles within legal translation and the wide range of communicative situations in which legal translators play their roles as mediators. Contexts of professional practice have been classified into three main categories, which give shape to the three parts of the book:

(1) legal translation in the private sector;

(2) legal translation for national public institutions; and

(3) legal translation at international organizations. Practical concerns within each of these settings are analysed by experts of diverse backgrounds, including several heads of institutional translation teams. Commonalities and differences between contexts are identified as a means of gaining a comprehensive understanding of this multifaceted and dynamically changing profession.

Contents:

• Legal Translation: The State of Affairs
• Jan Engberg: Comparative Law for Translation: The Key to Successful Mediation between Legal Systems
• Francisco Vigier/Perla Klein/Nancy Festinger: Certified Translators in Europe and the Americas: Accreditation Practices and Challenges
• Anabel Borja Albi: Freelance Translation for Multinational Corporations and Law Firms
• João Esteves-Ferreira: Challenges of the Freelance Legal Translator: Lifelong Learning, Ethics and Other Key Professional Issues
• Juan Miguel Ortega Herráez/Cynthia Giambruno/Erik Hertog: Translating for Domestic Courts in Multicultural Regions: Issues and New Developments in Europe and the United States of America
• Leo Hickey: Translating for the Police, Prosecutors and Courts: The Case of English Letters of Request
• Ramón Garrido Nombela: Translating for Government Departments: The Case of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-Operation
• Jean-Claude Gémar: Translating vs Co-Drafting Law in Multilingual Countries: Beyond the Canadian Odyssey
• Susan Šarčević/Colin Robertson: The Work of Lawyer-Linguists in the EU Institutions
• Xingmin Zhao/Deborah Cao: Legal Translation at the United Nations
• Alexandra Tomić/Ana Beltrán Montoliu: Translation at the International Criminal Court
• Muriel Millet: Legal Translation at INTERPOL
• Fernando Prieto Ramos: Legal Translation at the World Trade Organization
• Olivier Pasteur: Technology at the Service of Specialized Translators at International Organizations.

Peter Lang, Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, 2013

Series: New Trends in Translation Studies – Volume 4

Year of Publication: 2013

ISBN 978-3-0343-0284-5