24628 - Legal Language

Academic Year 2016/2017

  • Teaching Mode:
  • Campus: Ravenna
  • Corso: Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Law (cod. 0660)

Learning outcomes

The Course in legal Language aiming provide the students the competences concerning language and translation in juridical field considering  that the lawyer is frequently engaged with texts expressed in a language other than its own.  The  correct use of a legal concept in a multilingual context is necessary  in order to understand legal and contractual text. The Legal Language course aiming provide the students the  skills they need in order to understand the technical language used in other legal systems and operate in a multilingual context.

Course contents

  • Law as a linguistic fact.
  • The words of the law and their meaning
  • Legal languages in the Western Legal Tradition
  • The languages of the law in Europe: from Latin legal language to languages in the modern legal traditions of common law and civil law
  • Multilingualism in Law: the question of translation
  • The experience of mixed jurisdictions
  • Case studies

Readings/Bibliography

Europa e linguaggi giuridici , Giuffrè, Milano, 2008  BARBARA POZZO-MARINA TIMOTEO (a cura di ), pp. XIII-XXX; 31-208; 259-432.

Teaching methods

The course is based on lectures  in which the topics of the course will be explored.


Participation in the course will be assessed by self-certification.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral interview.

The oral examination is designed to appreciate the level of understanding and mastery of the course topics

Teaching tools

in addition to the book, during the course will be analyzed cases in different languages showing the differences concerning the legal language utlysed.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Russo