Transius was established at the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI) in 2012 as a centre for legal and institutional translation studies. Its mission is to develop research and training in this field by building on the long-standing expertise available at the Department of Translation. Transius pursues this objective in collaboration with translation professionals, particularly from international organisations and Swiss institutions, and with researchers from other universities.

Legal translation has become one of the most dynamic areas of Translation Studies, and is essential for the functioning of national and international organisations. It constitutes a central pillar of excellence at the FTI (ETI until 2011) and has been a core focus of its programmes since the 1940s. In 2000, the Faculty introduced a postgraduate diploma (“D.E.S.S.”) in legal translation, and hosted an international conference which is widely regarded as a milestone in the field: Legal Translation: History, Theory/ies, Practice. This event, organised by professors Claude BOCQUET, Jean-Claude GÉMAR and Maher ABDEL HADI, who had founded the GREJUT research group (Groupe de recherche en jurilinguistique et traduction juridique) in 1997, illustrates the active role played by the Geneva school of legal translation. After the Bologna reform, legal translation training was integrated into the Master of Arts in Translation. Since 2011, this programme has included “specialised translation – focus on legal translation” as one of its areas of specialisation. Furthermore, the FTI offers several lifelong learning courses in this field.

The research conducted by Transius draws upon the expertise in comparative law and legal and institutional translation available at the Department of Translation. It focuses on the diversity of translation practices found in different institutional and cultural contexts. Geneva and its environment indeed constitute a privileged vantage point for the observation and improvement of professional methods. In line with the Geneva school’s pragmatic orientation, Transius advances interdisciplinary approaches which are critical to this field of research.

The Centre is composed of lecturers, researchers and practitioners from the University of Geneva and professional settings. They cover the FTI’s working languages (Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish). The Centre’s activities are also supported by an international advisory board.