Translating "law" to other European languages
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2011) |
Part of a series on |
Translation |
---|
Types |
Theory |
|
Technologies |
Localization |
Institutional |
Related topics |
|
The translation of "law" to other European languages faces several difficulties. In most
General
There are in English two more or less synonymous adjectives, both from Latin origin, that correspond etymologically to the Continental distinction: the common word legal and the less common juridical (or even juristic). However, the words ius and lex are not synonyms.
Lex can sometimes be translated as
On the other hand, ius is also polysemous, since it can mean either law or right. Continental legal scholars sometimes make a distinction between "subjective ius" (any legal right) and "objective ius" (the whole law), but this does not happen in ordinary language. The two senses of ius can be easily distinguished in most cases.
When ius means law, it usually has some semantic connection to what is right, just or straight. For instance, the German motto Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit (literally Unity and law and freedom)) has been translated as Unity and justice and freedom, even though there is a different word for justice (Gerechtigkeit). Lex does not have such a connection. Some translators of Kant's and Hegel's works have translated Recht as objective right (see Steiner, 2002, p. 276), although those works, especially Kant's, are just about law or, at most, about the best law.
Present day continental law schools and faculties claim to study ius. Medieval universities, on the contrary, usually had a faculty of leges. The English Wikipedia's article on "law" links to other languages' Wikipedia articles on the equivalent of ius.
Examples
Language | law (in general) | statute, act of parliament |
language | law (in general) | statute, act of parliament |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latin | ius | lex | Dutch | recht | wet |
French | droit | loi | German | Recht | Gesetz |
Spanish | derecho | ley | Italian | diritto | legge |
Latvian | tiesības | likums | Russian | право | закон |
Lithuanian | teisė | įstatymas | Maltese | ordni | liġi |
Portuguese | direito | lei | Swedish | rätt | lag |
There are a few European languages other than English where "law" translates into one word, such as
To clarify the difference one may look at how these phrases translated into Spanish:
civil law = derecho civil | forbidden by law = prohibido por la ley |
common law = derecho común | act of Congress = ley del Congreso |
immigration law = derecho de inmigración | Immigration Act = ley de inmigración |
natural law = derecho natural | laws of nature = leyes de la naturaleza |
In bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, a careful translation is needed in legal contexts to avoid ambiguity. Even excellent translation cannot capture all the connotations of the original words, however, and many scholars argue for bilingual judges who can parse both versions of the text.
In Canada since 1891 the "
This difference between English and other European languages is sometimes invoked in the debates between legal positivism, natural law and interpretivism. Berkowitz (2005) argues that the rise of legal positivism corresponds to a "transformation of the sense of 'law', a difficult topic made more so by a particular limitation of the English language", the non-distinction between ius and lex Hart himself, in The concept of law (pp. 206 ff.), argued that the distinction between ius and lex might clarify the relation between law and morality. A similar point is made by Gardner (2004) in order to distinguish between "law" in general and "legal law".
For the sake of examples, this article uses the Latin words.
The discussion on the relation between ius (jus) and lex
Continental legal positivists of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century claimed that all ius is lex.
In German "Law Schools", sometimes the following allegory is told: The word "Recht" is closely related to the word "Rache" (which is "revenge" in English). It brings in the idea of "an eye for an eye" as the first instrument to overcome uncontrolled revenge. From this point of view, Recht is institutionalized Rache. But this means: If someone says: "I had 'the right' to do this.", he should say: "I did it out of revenge.", as the person is not a "legal" institution.[citation needed]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
References
Further reading
- Émile Benveniste (1969) Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes, vol. 2, Pouvoir, droit, religion, Paris: Minuit.
- Berkowitz, Roger (2005) The Gift of Science: Leibniz and the Modern Legal Tradition, Harvard University Press. An excerpt is available online.
- Fletcher, George (2001) "In honour of 'Ius et Lex'. Some thoughts on speaking about law".
- Gardner, John (2004), "The legality of law", Ratio Juris, vol. 17, no. 2, June 2004, 168–181.
- Hans Kelsen (1960) Pure Theory of Law, second edition.
- Hillel Steiner (2002), "Working Rights", in Kramer, Simmonds, Steiner, A debate over rights, Oxford: Oxford University.