Inglese giuridico

Problems arise in legal translations which are not present in the case of translations in other subjects. Il

traduttore deve scegliere il termine più idoneo a seconda del contesto. L’esempio classico è rappresentato

dal termine law.

MEANINGS OF ‘LAW’

1.LEGGE (gen.) To break the law = infrangere la legge, To keep the law = osservare la legge/ 2. LEGGE (tec.)=

statute, act of Parliament= To pass a law = approvare una legge, To repeal a law = abrogare una legge/ 3.

GIURISPRUDENZA (law as a branch of knowledge) To study law = studiare giurisprudenza, Law faculty =

facoltà di giurisprudenza/ 4. DIRITTO (body of laws relating to a subject) Criminal law = diritto penale,

Public law= diritto pubblico/ 5. GIUSTIZIA The fugitive avoided the law= il fuggitivo è sfuggito alla giustizia/

6. PROFESSIONE LEGALE, AVVOCATURA To practice law = esercitare la professione legale/ 7. AZIONE

LEGALE To go to law = procedere per vie legali, To take someone to law = iniziare un’azione legale nei

confronti di qualcuno/ 8. PRINCIPIO The law of gravity= il principio di gravità/ 9. REGOLA The rules of

grammar = le regole grammaticali/ 10. ORDINE (Fig .) His word is law = la sua parola è legge

I nomi degli istituti sono uguali, o almeno equivalenti, a livello lessicale, ma la normativa sottostante è

diversa. (false friends) • common law/Diritto comune • personal property/ proprietà personale. I nomi

degli istituti sono uguali, ma il significato giuridico è parzialmente diverso nella lingua giuridica di partenza e

nella lingua giuridica di arrivo. Si può tradurre contract con «contratto», a patto che sia chiaro per il

destinatario della traduzione che il vocabolo italiano «contratto» riceve nell'accezione inglese di contract.

Infatti non tutti i contratti per il diritto continentale sono parimenti contract per il diritto angloamericano;

ad es. non lo sono i contratti con obbligazioni a carico di una sola parte (deeds or acts under seal) e i

contratti reali (bailments). Vi sono delle espressioni per le quali è impossibile una traduzione letterale,

mentre è essenziale una ‘traduzione per equivalente’; nell’impossibilità di operare una esatta traduzione

letterale, si ricerca -nell’ordinamento giuridico di arrivo – un omologo funzionale dell’istituto considerato. Si

guarda, cioè, alla natura e alla funzione di un istituto nell’ordinamento giuridico di partenza per ravvisare se

vi sia un istituto con la stessa natura e funzione nell’ordinamento giuridico di arrivo. Tecnicamente per

equivalenza funzionale si intende usare un termine o un’espressione nella lingua di arrivo che rappresenta

il concetto funzionalmente più prossimo. Tort law non trova nel diritto continentale nessuna branca del

diritto che sia esattamente sovrapponibile. Tuttavia è impensabile una traduzione letterale,‘Torto’.

Pertanto, la tort law in common law è correttamente tradotta come responsabilità civile o

extracontrattuale, facendosi riferimento alla stessa funzione che le espressioni considerate hanno nella

lingua giuridica di partenza ed in quella di arrivo. Vi sono infine delle espressioni intraducibili, perché

strettamente legate al sistema giuridico di riferimento e, di contro, assenti negli altri. (Es. Equity [branca

diritto inglese], Consideration [requisito essenziale contratto in common law]). Dinanzi ad un termine che,

essendo strettamente legato ad un contesto giuridico, non trova un omologo nella lingua di arrivo, il

traduttore può mantenere il termine nella lingua di partenza, fare una parafrasi (che rende bene il

concetto, ma rischia di appesantire il testo) o creare un neologismo (operazione rischiosa).

Law is 1) a rule of human conduct prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling

authority. Law is a rule or a body of rules, Scope: the guidance of human conduct. Law is imposed, binding,

enforceable and applied within a state. Other definitions of law are 2) a statute, ordinance or regulation

enacted by the legislative power of a state; 3) the whole body of rules and doctrines relating to one subject.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW: Public law v. Private law/ Criminal law v. Private law/ Substantive law v.

Procedural law/ Municipal law v. International law

Public Law is that part of the law which governs the relationships between the individuals and the State. It

comprehends: Constitutional Law (body of rules which regulate the structure of the principal organs of the

State and determine their principal functions); Administrative Law (body of legal principles which concern

the rights and duties arising from the impact on the individuals of the actual functioning of the executive

instruments of government); Criminal Law (part of the law which deals with crimes against society as a

whole and their punishment )

Private Law is that part of the law which governs the relationships among individuals regulating rights and

duties among each others. It comprehends Law of contract, law of tort, law of property, law of succession

and family law.

CIVIL LAW is the part of the law which governs the relationships among individuals regulating duties and

rights among each other. It deals with the resolution of disputes among two or more parties by providing a

remedy for a wrong that has been suffered, usually by financial compensation. Parties in civil cases: The

party who starts the action against someone in civil courts is called claimant (aggrieved, damaged or

injured party). The defendant is the person against whom proceedings are brought, or the person who is

sued in a civil case (aggrieving party, damaging party, wrongdoer).

Remedies for civil liability: civil courts usually provide two types of civil remedy -> DAMAGES: money

claimed by a claimant from a defendant as compensation for harm done. INJUNCTION: a court order

directing a person to do (mandatory injunction) or refrain from doing a particular act (prohibitory

injunction), such ordering the defendant to stop breaching a contract. The remedy of injunction is granted

within the discrection of the court. In contract law there are some other discretionary remedies such as

specific performance or rescission. Conduct in the civil action: Commencement of a civil action (or lawsuit)

is generally the responsibility of the claimant who sues the defendant. The cases are heard in the civil

courts. The claimant has to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the event occurred in the manner

asserted, a principle known as burden of proof (obligation to prove the case). Proof of the case on the

balance of probabilities is a lower standard than in criminal cases, so that the court has to decide whether

the claimant’s case is more credible than the defendant’s case. If the claimant wins his action, the court will

make a particular order, depending on the nature of the case and what the injured party has claimed for.

The court may order the defendant to compensate the claimant by awarding damages, or decide to grant

an injunction by compelling the defendant do or not to do a certain action in the future, or decide to make

both types of order. Either party may appeal to the higher court (Court of Appeal) against the court

decision. The parties in an appellate litigation are named: appellant and appellee (respondent).

CRIMINAL law is the part of law which regulates crimes and their punishment. It deals with offences

against the state or its citizens and preserves public order in society by dispensing punishments to the

offenders. Elements of a crime: The fundamentals of a crime are an unlawful act (physical element) and a

guilty mind (mental element). Es. Theft includes ‘dishonesty’ (mental aptitude) and ‘appropriating’ (physical

act). The physical element includes: conduct, circumstance, prohibited consequence/result. Es. Physical

element in murder: the physical element in murder contains an unlawful act (conduct) against behaviour

harming any person (circumstance) which causes the death of another human being (result). The two

aspects of crime (conduct and circumstance) must be closely linked by causation, otherwise known by

chain of causation. The mental element of a crime includes: intention, recklessness, negligence. INTENTION

is the highest form of mens rea and includes: direct intent: the defendant has a clear foresight of the

consequences of his actions, and desires those consequences to occur; oblique intent: the defendant

embarks on a course of conduct to bring about the intended result knowing that the consequences of his

actions will also bring about another result. RECKLESSNESS: the defendant foresees that particular

consequences may occur and proceeds with the given conduct, not caring whether those consequences

actually occur or not. NEGLIGENCE: the defendant is inadvertent of the consequences of his risky conduct,

but a reasonable person, in the same circumstances, would have foreseen those consequences.

SUBSTANTIVE LAW V.PROCEDURAL LAW: Substantive law: the body of the rules oflaw in the above

branches. Procedural law: the body of the rules governing the manner in which a right is enforced under

private law or a crime prosecuted under criminal law.

Common law v civil law: COMMON LAW emerged in England; was applied in English colonies, is uncodified,

judicial decisions are sources of law. It can be seen as a legal family, as case law and in opposition to equity

and civil law. CIVIL LAW: emerged in continental Europe, was applied in european countries, is codified,

judicial decisions are not sources of law.

Common law vs statute law: COMMON LAW: case law and judicial decisions, unwritten law, pronounced

by judges when deciding cases, not formally enacted by the legislature. STATUTE LAW: Acts of parliament

and legislation, written law, enacted by the legislator according to procedures recognized as valid for

producing law.

Common law v equity: COMMON LAW: The branch of English law developed since the norman conquest in

1066, based on the system of writs, developed by the courts of westminster, characterized by strong

formalism. EQUITY: The branch of english law developed since XV century, emerged in opposition to the

system of writs, developed by the chancery court, not based on strict formalities.///////////////////

Origins of English common law: Norman conquest (1066): Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror won

against the Saxons and was declared KING. The customs of the Saxons weren’t abolished immediately.

Many innovations were introduced.

CREATION OF A FEUDAL SYSTEM: The land was allocated to feudal vassals of the king and was created a

chain of feudal relationships. King->Tenants in chief (lords or members of aristocracy)->Intermediate

tenants-> Tenants in demesne (who actually occupied the property)

For administration of justice at first there was itinerant justice: the royal judges went out to provincial

towns and applied everywhere the common law both in criminal and in civil cases. From the XIII century

there was the creation of the Courts of Westminster to apply the common law. COURTS OF WESTMINSTER:

Exchequer (for the administration of the royal treasury), King’s Bench (for criminal matters and for any

case which concerned the monarchy), Common pleas (for questions of civil property and, in general, civil

claims)

THE SYSTEM OF THE WRITS: Writ = a written order in the king’s name, issued by the king’s writing office

(chancery) at the istance of the complainant ordering the defendant to appear in the royal courts to see

justice done. If a plaintiff wished to have justice he would need a writ to enable to do it. For every

complaint there was a specific writ: 1. The plaintiff had to ask for the right writ, 2. If the plaintiff asked for

the wrong writ he wouldn’t have justice. Ex: writ of right: for a proprietary action, writ of covenant: for

breach of contract, writ of trespass: for torts. GREAT FORMALISM. In common law there is a right where

there is a writ to enforce it. Creation of new writs=creation of new rights->Great development of common

law. Problems: formalism: who chose the wrong writ lost the action, expensiveness: who hadn’t enough

money couldn’t obtain justice, the centralization of justice and the growing power of royal courts reduced

the power of the Lords->strong opposition. Magna Charta 1215 is the first step of the opposition of the

Lords. It’s a fundamental document in English history which is the starting point for t