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Boteanu Teona Gabriela

Faculty of Letters
Applied Modern Languages
German-English
2
nd
year

Legal English

Legal English is treated as a sub-type of natural language. It shares with natural
language several relevant semantic and pragmatic features, such as fuzziness, contextuality
of meaning and viability as an instrument of communication. The characteristics of a legal
language are rather problematic and controversial and even its very existence is discussed.
(Jerzy Wrblewski, Legal language and legal interpretation)


Legal English samples:
EU law
The European Union (EU) has a legal system and law of its own - the main rules and
principles are laid down in the founding Treaties. The EU can adopt legal and legislative acts,
which the Member States have to respect and to apply.
Sources of EU law
The two main sources of EU law are: primary law and secondary law.
Primary law is constituted by treaties laying down the legal framework of the European
Union. Secondary law is composed of legal instruments based on these treaties, such as
regulations, directives, decisions and agreements. In addition, there are general principles of
EU law, the case law developed by the European Court of Justice and international law.
EU courts
The court system of the European Union (EU) is composed of three strands: the Court
of Justice, the General Court, and the specialised courts in specific areas. These EU
courts ensure that the interpretation and application of EU law is observed.
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The Court of Justice of the European Union (which sometimes is also referred to as
the European Court of Justice), constitutes the highest judicial authority of the EU. It
ensures, in cooperation with the courts and tribunals of the Member States, the
application and uniform interpretation of European Union law. The Court of Justice is
composed of one judge from each Member State.
The General Court hears cases in first instance, which are not referred to the
specialised courts or directly to the Court of Justice. The General Court is composed
of at least one judge per Member State.
Specialised courts can be set up for specific areas.

Victims of crime
If you have fallen victim to a crime, this can be a traumatic and confusing time, particularly if
you are abroad. But as a victim you can benefit from a number of rights, and assistance is
also available from national authorities and organisations to advise you and help you through
this difficult period. It can be hard to know what to do and who to turn to.
If you have suffered a crime, of course you will need to think about whether to report it. You
may feel reluctant to do this, or worried about it, but if you do not report it, a police
investigation is much less likely and the person who committed the crime is unlikely to be
brought to account. You may have access to some rights whether you report the crime or not.
However, once you have reported the crime you can benefit from a range of rights and
additional support which might not otherwise be available to you.
When you report the crime to the police or as soon as possible thereafter, you might wish to
check carefully what specific role(s) you may have in the proceedings - as victim, witness,
civil claimant, civil party etc. These roles vary from one country to another and some of them
have rights attached to them that may be important later on in the process, for example with
regard to whether or not you as a victim can appeal the outcome of a trial.






Source: European e-Justice Portal - e-justice.europa.eu



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Glossary:
treaty = international agreement concluded between states in written form and
governed by international law.
framework = a set of ideas, rules, beliefs or the structure from which something is
developed, or on which decisions are based.
regulation = legal act of general application, binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States.
directive = legal act which is binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each
Member State to which it is addressed, but leaves to the national authorities the choice
of form and methods.
decision = legal act which is binding in its entirety on those to whom it is addressed.
case law = reported decisions of appeals courts and other courts which make new
interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents.
court system (also known as the judiciary) = A system of courts of law for the
administration of justice.
to refer (to) = to assign or attribute to.
crime = series of criminal acts of which the frequency, nature, location, time
committed and perpetrators are taken into consideration.
to report = to complain about or denounce.
reluctant = unwilling; disinclined.
to bring to account = to hold responsible.
proceeding(s) = a lawsuit; all or some part of a cause heard and determined by a court
or other judicial authority.
civil claimant = a person who brings a civil action in a court of law, formerly called
plaintiff.
civil party = the person who brings a civil action in the criminal proceedings.
to appeal = to ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final
judgment or other legal ruling.


Cf. iate.europa.eu IATE (InterActive Terminology for Europe)
legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com

















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Activity!
Match collocations by completing the phrases with verbs from the list.
DO ; PASS ; BREAK ; MAKE ; TAKE ; REACH ; PAY ; SERVE ; LAY ; COMMIT ;
PLEAD ; GIVE

1. .out of prison
2. . / . a stand against/on sth.;
3. . an arrest;
4. . for ones crime;
5. . amends for;
6. .ones bit;
7. . the blame;
8. . a fine / penalty;
9. . / . a law;
10. . down the law;
11. . / . time in prison;
12. . sb. with a warrant;
13. . a crime;
14. . guilty;
15. . a verdict;
16. . evidence.