JJUA55042U Language Issues in International and European law NOTE: This course is not offered in spring 2015.
.Law increasingly transgresses the boundaries of national
legal systems, and most lawyers work in international legal
environments. Moreover, with international cooperation and the free
movement of people, issues of language and linguistic diversity
give rise to the need for rules that govern language use at courts,
before public authorities, and in international organizations. One
major aim of this course is to focus on language issues that follow
from the fact that law and society are increasingly international
and transnational phenomena. Another aim is to study the practical
consequences of international legal communication where lawyers
write and read legislation and contracts that are set up in other
languages than their own. In many respects this means that lawyers
have to deal with translation of legal texts.
Finally, the course will introduce the students to the ambitions of
international legal harmonisation and cause them to reflect on the
possibility of establishing a common international legal language
(in global legal English) which is independent from the national
legal languages of domestic legal systems.
In the course of time the problems relating to language and
linguistic diversity have been treated differently in different
legal orders. The course will give a survey of the rules and case
law given within the UN system, the European Court of Human Rights,
and, the European Union as regards multilingualism.
For a full understanding of the problems of multilingualism it is
necessary to have basic knowledge of the characteristics of legal
language and legal translation. Thus, another major part of the
course consists in giving an introduction to these subjects: Why is
legal language special? Why is it difficult to translate legal
texts from one language into another? What is meant by linguistic
and cultural relativity? What are the methods of translation
developed in translation theory? Of what relevance are the insights
of language and translation theory to the problems of preparing and
interpreting legal texts?
The focus of the course is to give the students an introduction to
theoretical discussions of problems relating to language and
linguistic diversity in international law and EU law. In order to
substantiate the theoretical understanding of language issues in
law, the students will be asked to analyze and compare, under
teacher guidance, translated texts, and depending on their
individual linguistic knowledge and proficiency to draft and
translate samples of legal texts.
• Describe rules governing language use in diverse
national legal systems and international organisations and define
the meaning of multilingualism, legal language, legal culture,
legal translation, legal harmonisation, and transnational law.
• Explain the bearing that linguistic diversity has on
international legal drafting and legal interpretation.
• On the basis of language and translation theories, analyze
and comment on court decisions applying multilingual legal
interpretation.
• Discuss and reflect critically on theories of legal
cultures and legal harmonization in a way that shows that the
student is able to combine knowledge and insights of both law and
linguistics and translation studies.
• Communicate and formulate his or her knowledge and
arguments fluently and correctly in a structured and coherent
way
Anne Lise Kjær&Silvia Adamo(eds.): Linguistice Diversity and European Democracy. Ashgate 2011 (220 s.).
Heikki Mattila: Comparative Legal Linguistics. Ashgate 2006.
(ca. 130 s.)
Text binder of app. 200 pages
Pensum app. 550 pages.
- Category
- Hours
- Preparation
- 241
- Seminar
- 34
- Total
- 275
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral defence, 20 min.Oral exam based on synopsis 20 minutes
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
- 1. - 4. og 8. June 2015 (preliminary dates)
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- JJUA55042U
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
- Schedule
- B2 (Tues 13-17 + Fri 10-12)
- Continuing and further education
- Study board
- Law
Contracting department
- Law
Course responsibles
- Anne Lise Kjær (14-6774746b34726f796b3471706b7846707b7834717b346a71)
Lecturers
Associate Professor, Ph.D. Anne Lise Kjær