Faculté de traduction et d'interprétation Faculté de traduction et d'interprétation

Jurisprudence - Revue critique

Interpreting law: A cross-examination by lawyers and translators

Call for papers

Presentation | Submission details | Important dates | Scientific committee

For its next issue, the editorial committee of Jurisprudence - Revue critique (JRC), in cooperation with the University of Geneva’s Centre for Legal and Institutional Translation Studies (Transius), would like to publish studies from both law and translation experts on the topic of legal interpretation.

Presentation

In their line of work, lawyers and translators are required to "determine" and "give" meaning to legal texts and discourses. They face hermeneutical questions of a crucial nature. Whether in a monolingual or multilingual context, understanding the meaning of a text or discourse is a prerequisite for different activities, depending on the professional purpose in each case (judging, advising, translating, editing, researching, etc.). Although these activities differ in many respects (training, discipline, methods, culture, etc.), they all draw on the same hermeneutical source. However, while interdisciplinary work on this subject does exist and is being developed, scientific dialogue between areas such as legal translation studies, jurilinguistics and comparative law theory remains limited, due in large part to the compartmentalization of disciplines and academic structures.

In the various disciplines, specific methodologies and methods of legal interpretation have been developed and integrated into university and professional training. Professors and trainers pass on techniques that structure the professional culture of trainees and are disseminated in the various sectors of activity. Through their work on legal interpretation, researchers in legal theory, legal translation and jurilinguistics have developed approaches that are, unfortunately, still largely unknown outside each discipline.

Issue No. 11 of JRC aims to explore this field and contribute to the intellectual dialogue that is emerging between researchers and professionals from the various disciplines that deal with law.

Two main thematic lines are proposed for this call for papers, although other proposals are also welcome:

  • Method and methodology. The first theme aims to bring together papers dealing with the interpretation methods currently taught, their implementation in professional settings and the specific methods used in law and translation. Papers may include theoretical content (legal theory, legal hermeneutics, legal translation and jurilinguistics). They may also have a more practical focus and discuss the methods used in a particular professional setting (in international organizations, the administrations of multilingual states, internationally-oriented companies, courts of justice, or research institutions in comparative law, translation studies, etc.). Papers may also analyze the methods taught at university and in professional training courses, whether for lawyers, diplomats, legal translators, jurilinguists, interpreters, terminologists, etc.
  • Comparative law and translation. The second theme will focus on the relationship between comparative law and translation. First, it will examine the way in which comparative law informs the interpretation of legal texts, and the extent to which it is taken into account to varying degrees in the training and the work of professionals (judges, lawyers, translators, etc.). Papers may also explore the potential of translation and translation studies in the field of comparative law. Translation, and translation methods, may be seen as essential tools for comparatists, notably to understand legal texts written in foreign languages.
Submission details

Proposals for full papers should be sent to jurisprudence.revuecritique(at)gmail.com (and cc: transius(at)unige.ch) by 20 July 2023, and include:

  • a title and an abstract of 350-500 words (excluding bibliographical references) in English or French (once chosen, the same language should be used for the manuscript);
  • the thematic line of the proposal;
  • the author's affiliation, contact details and biographical note (150 words maximum).
Important dates

  • Deadline for submission of proposals: 20 July 2023

  • Notification of results: 15 September 2023
  • Submission of full papers (10,000 words maximum): 31 December 2023
  • Peer review and notification of results: 31 March 2024
  • Review stage and submission of revised papers: 1 June 2024
  • Publication planned for autumn 2024
Scientific committee for this issue