International Journal of Language & Law (JLL)
type: channel
description: JLL is a platinum open access e-journal which offers a scholarly forum for research on the interdependence of language and law, from theoretical approaches to practical problems. Submissions are double-blindly peer-reviewed, and published free of charge to authors and readers.
publisher: International Language and Law Association (ILLA)
language: en
publication name: International Journal of Language & Law (JLL)
issn: 2194-7414
copyright: JLL adheres to a strict platinum Open Access policy. Authors who publish with this journal agree to grant the journal a right of first publication and to simultaneously license their work under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) that allows others to share the work, acknowledging the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors retain copyright and a right to non-exclusively distribute the journal's published version of the work (e.g., by posting it to institutional repositories), in compliance with CC BY.
items: Personal Naming and Law
items: Lexical Diversity Predicts Juror Perceptions of Written Eyewitness Testimony
items: Forensic Linguists as Expert Witnesses
items: Correcting Legal Language: Tutor-led Interaction and the Reproduction of Linguistic Norms in Law School
items: Comprehension May not Occur
items: Translation in the European Union: Navigating Technical and Legal Issues in the Light of Artificial Intelligence — Conclusions
items: Framing the Cybercrime Law of 2023 in Jordanian News Articles and the Ideologies Behind the Frames
items: Review: Nadja Capus, Cornelia Griebel & Ivana Havelka (2024). Multilingual Communications Surveillance in Criminal Law. The Role of Intercept Interpreter-translators. Edward Elgar Publishing. 212 pp.
items: Artificial Intelligence in Legal Translation at the Court of Justice of the European Union
items: Is Artificial Intelligence Capable of Validating Language Policy Choices in the Translation of EU Legislation?
items: The Multilingualism Paradox in EU Law
items: Les Enjeux de l’Intelligence Artificielle pour la Traduction Juridique au Sein de l’Union Européenne
items: Le «Paradigme de la Traduction» et l’Apprentissage Profond
items: Towards Clear, Simple, and Inclusive Legal Language
items: A Comparative Study of Accuracy in Human vs. AI Translation of Legal Documents into Arabic
items: Reading or Listening Between the Lines
items: Linguistic Analysis of the Law of Georgia on Foreign Influence Transparency
items: A Pragma-Linguistic Interpretation of Legal Communication
items: Embracing New Translation Technologies at International Organizations
items: Applying Large Language Models in Legal Translation
items: Building the Australian Legislative Corpus 2023
items: The Interplay of Language and Law
items: Linguistic Precedent as a Form of Linguistic Replication
items: Path Dependency or Dynamic Consistency in EU Anti-Discrimination Law?
items: CJEU Case Law as a Source of Law in National Courts
items: De Facto Precedent at the Court of Justice of the European Union
items: Precedent in EU Law
items: Introduction
items: Interpreting rapport
items: Evolution and Dialect Perception

Personal Naming and Law
type: item
description: This article examines how personal names are regulated in Vietnam and England, exploring what these contrasting approaches reveal about law as a cultural institution. It argues that legal regimes of naming do not merely register identity but encode distinct cultural logics: Vietnamese law emphasizes collectivist stability through codification, while English law prioritizes individual autonomy via permissive common law. Drawing on statutory analysis (notably the 2015 Vietnamese Civil Code), English case law, administrative circulars, and ethnographic studies of minority naming practices, the study highlights how legal frameworks interact with social norms. Findings indicate that Vietnam’s codification reinforces kinship and lineage structures but risks marginalizing non-majority practices, whereas English common law facilitates personal choice yet can disadvantage migrants and minority language users due to administrative and resource barriers. By treating names as both cultural-linguistic artifacts and legal identifiers, the article shows that the “right to a name” is realized in culturally specific ways, illuminating law’s role in mediating identity, recognition, and belonging. Cite as: Nguyen-Viet, JLL 15 (2026), 58–85, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2026.58
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: personal name
  topic: keywords
subject: Vietnamese civil code
  topic: keywords
subject: English common law
  topic: keywords
subject: law and culture
  topic: keywords
subject: onomastics
  topic: keywords
creator: Khoa Nguyen-Viet
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Khoa Nguyen-Viet https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-04-19
publication date: 2026-04-19
starting page: 58
ending page: 85
doi: 10.14762/

Lexical Diversity Predicts Juror Perceptions of Written Eyewitness Testimony
type: item
description: While many studies investigate how eyewitness identities such as gender, race, and dialect might result in differing evaluations of the eyewitness’s credibility, lexical dimensions of these statements are often overlooked. Properties of language production such as lexical diversity can reveal information about a person’s language status or other identities, possibly serving as proxies for those attributes when explicit information is unavailable. Previous research has found that higher number of total (volume) and unique (abundance) words, lower type-token ratio (variety-repetition), and higher proportions of “vivid” descriptors are linked to veracity (e.g., Colwell et al., 2007; Morgan et al., 2013, 2015). However, it is unclear how more complex dimensions of lexical diversity might be related to perceived credibility. In this study, mock jurors (n = 64) evaluated written eyewitness statements for perceived accuracy, credibility, deceptiveness, eloquence, and prestige. The statements, evaluated across six dimensions of lexical diversity (volume, abundance, variety-repetition, evenness, disparity, and dispersion), were written by L1 and L2 English speakers. Quantitative analyses indicated that volume, abundance, variety-repetition, evenness, and disparity predicted perceived integrity (accuracy, credibility, and deceptiveness), while abundance, variety-repetition, evenness, and disparity predicted perceived status (eloquence and prestige). When controlling for lexical diversity, L1 statements were nevertheless rated more positively than L2 statements. These results highlight how juror perceptions may be biased even absent explicit demographic information. Furthermore, they highlight the lexical aspects of a text on which jurors may rely when evaluating the integrity of a witness, with implications for the study of human error in veracity judgments. Cite as: Kendro, JLL 15 (2026), 86–110, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2026.86
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: eyewitness testimony
  topic: keywords
subject: credibility
  topic: keywords
subject: lexical diversity
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistic bias
  topic: keywords
creator: Kelly Kendro
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Kelly Kendro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-05-04
publication date: 2026-05-04
starting page: 86
ending page: 110
doi: 10.14762/

Forensic Linguists as Expert Witnesses
type: item
description: In a jurisdiction where forensic linguistics is still carving out its space and is deemed by some to be “junk science”, questions arise about the discipline’s legitimacy. This paper examines legal professionals’ perspectives on forensic linguists’ credibility as expert witnesses in Philippine courtrooms, positioning this investigation as a pioneering work. Given that forensic linguistics is not yet well known among lawyers and judges in the country, their perspectives on the credibility of forensic linguists as expert witnesses cannot be ignored. Anchored on the four identified credibility factors in the study of Brodsky et al. (2010) as a theoretical lens and employing thematic analysis as its research design, a holistic credibility concept emerged from this study, which can be used as a foundational basis for the establishment of forensic linguists’ professional code of conduct, and a prospective legal framework that regards forensic linguists as expert witnesses. Cite as: Fontamillas & Rañosa-Madrunio, JLL 15 (2026), 1–28, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2026.001
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: forensic linguists
  topic: keywords
subject: credibility
  topic: keywords
subject: expert witnesses
  topic: keywords
subject: Philippine courtrooms
  topic: keywords
creator: Kreisler Fontamillas
creator: Marilu Madrunio
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Kreisler I. Fontamillas, Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-03-17
publication date: 2026-03-17
doi: 10.14762/

Correcting Legal Language: Tutor-led Interaction and the Reproduction of Linguistic Norms in Law School
type: item
description: Mastery of legal language is essential for aspiring legal professionals, and this process of linguistic socialization begins in law school. While much research has focused on lectures and doctrinal content, less attention has been paid to how law students acquire legal language norms through interactive settings. This study examines how academic tutors at a Dutch law school contribute to students’ language socialization during small-group tutorial sessions. Drawing on participant observations and semi-structured interviews, the analysis reveals how tutors correct or reinforce students’ language use, and how these correction practices reflect differing language ideologies—ranging from the valorization of traditional legal terminology to the acceptance of more accessible alternatives. These practices shape not only students' understanding of legal concepts but also their acquisition of linguistic capital and sense of professional identity. The study highlights how language norms are reproduced or challenged in early legal education and considers the implications of this for inclusion and access within the legal profession. The study contributes to broader discussions about legal language ideology, including the accessibility concerns raised by the plain language movement. Cite as: Bešić, JLL 14 (2025), 290–312, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.290
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: legal language
  topic: keywords
subject: law school
  topic: keywords
subject: legal education
  topic: keywords
subject: legal socialisation
  topic: keywords
subject: legal knowledge
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistic capital
  topic: keywords
subject: plain language movement
  topic: keywords
subject: legalese
  topic: keywords
creator: Alma Besic
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Alma Besic https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-12
publication date: 2025-11-12
starting page: 290
ending page: 312
doi: 10.14762/

Comprehension May not Occur
type: item
description: Jury instructions play a crucial role in the U.S. criminal justice system, yet the complexity of legal language can present challenges for juror comprehension. Previous research efforts within both legal and linguistic communities have aimed to improve the comprehensibility of jury instructions for jurors, who often lack extensive legal knowledge. This past research has highlighted the effectiveness of including linguistic features such as active sentences, reduced legal terminology, and increased use of modal verbs in improving jury instruction comprehension. The present study further investigates modal verb usage in jury instructions. The multiple possible interpretations of modal verbs could result in ambiguous meanings within jury instructions, a factor that has not been fully addressed in previous recommendations for enhancing jury instruction comprehension through modal verb use. Utilizing corpus linguistic analyses, the study examines civil jury instructions from Utah and Arizona. Frequency analysis of modal verbs in these instructions was carried out to establish general usage patterns of specific modal verbs within the two sets of jury instructions. Additionally, an investigation into instances of potential ambiguity was conducted using an adapted categorization of modal verb functions based on Biber et al.'s (2007) framework. Results indicate that among the nine primary modal verbs examined, instances of potential ambiguity are limited to the modal verbs may and can –specifically, the negated forms of these modal verbs. Based on these findings, we propose recommendations for slight adjustments to Arizona and Utah jury instructions to enhance clarity in modal verb usage. Potential suggestions include replacing ambiguous modal verbs with less ambiguous modal verbs, incorporating clarifying adverbial phrases or clauses, and utilizing more degree adverbs and adjectives to aid juror comprehension. Cite as: Vlasova & Holmberg, JLL 15 (2026), 29–57, DOI: 10.14762…
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: modal verbs
  topic: keywords
subject: jury instructions ambiguity
  topic: keywords
subject: forensic linguistics
  topic: keywords
subject: corpus linguistics
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistics and law
  topic: keywords
subject: plain language movement
  topic: keywords
creator: Iia Vlasova
creator: Alexander Holmberg
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Iia Vlasova, Alexander Holmberg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-04-13
publication date: 2026-04-13
starting page: 29
ending page: 57
doi: 10.14762/

Translation in the European Union: Navigating Technical and Legal Issues in the Light of Artificial Intelligence — Conclusions
type: item
description: The article explains the choice of this special issue, dealing with the challenges of legal translation in the European Union in the light of artificial intelligence. It summarises the contributions and shares some reflections that can be inferred from them. This topic, through an inter- disciplinary approach which is based on the integration between European Law studies, Juri- linguistics and Translation Studies, shows that AI – at the intersection of these three disciplines – is profoundly challenging each of them. Firstly, it claims that while AI enhances productivity and supports translation tasks, it often falls short in ensuring contextual accuracy, terminological consistency, and legal nuance – necessitating continued human oversight. Secondly, this article restates the importance of comparative law, embedded in legal culture, in legal translation. It shows that AI is presented either as a source of fears and constraints, or as a source of hope and potential solutions as regards the protection of legal cultures. The contribution therefore argues that legal expertise is indispensable in the post-editing phase per- formed by humans. Lastly, this study presents potential pathways for the future development of AI in the field of legal translation within the EU, such as establishing a taxonomy of documents to be translated in order to determine the different levels of AI intervention. More broadly, the future lies in teaching and research design. Neural translation systems integration has determined a new paradigm shift which has been recently defined as Posthumanism, in opposition to the anthropocentrism of humanism. Cite as: Clément-Wilz et al., JLL 14 (2025),240–255, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.240
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: legal translation
  topic: keywords
subject: European Union law
  topic: keywords
subject: multilingualism
  topic: keywords
subject: comparative law
  topic: keywords
subject: artificial intelligence
  topic: keywords
subject: machine translation
  topic: keywords
creator: Laure Clément-Wilz
creator: Agata de Laforcade
creator: Ilaria Cennamo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Laure Clément-Wilz, Agata de Laforcade, Ilaria Cennamo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-01
publication date: 2025-07-01
starting page: 240
ending page: 255
doi: 10.14762/

Framing the Cybercrime Law of 2023 in Jordanian News Articles and the Ideologies Behind the Frames
type: item
description: The Cybercrime Law of 2023 has sparked significant controversy and criticism on Jordanian social media and among the populace. Jordanian online newspapers have shown a range of responses, from support to outright opposition. This study examines the framing of the law and the underlying ideologies in Jordanian online news articles. Using Entman's (1993) framing theory and Fairclough's (1989, 2013) critical discourse analysis, we analyze framing devices, tones, and ideologies in news texts from government-owned and privately owned newspapers from July 2023 to May 2024. An inductive approach to frame analysis was used to identify frames as they appear in the texts. Significant differences were found between ownership and frames choices, as well as between ownership and frames tone. However, no significant differences were found between ownership and framing devices or in their distribution across different tones. This disparity is linked to the differing ideological positions of the sources. Government-owned texts emphasized national security and promoted compliance with state decisions, reflecting an ideology prioritizing regulation, stability, and authority. In contrast, privately owned texts presented a more balanced view, offering equal representation of opposing and supportive viewpoints, indicating a pragmatic ideology. The findings suggest that the interaction between ownership and ideology significantly influences public issue presentation in Jordan, providing insights into the power structure within society and how power dynamics are shaped by overarching ideologies. Cite as: Naimat & Zibin, JLL 14 (2025), 313–341 DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.313
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: critical discourse analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: cybercrime law
  topic: keywords
subject: framing devices
  topic: keywords
subject: Jordan
  topic: keywords
creator: Na'elah Hasan Naimat
creator: Aseel Zibin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Aseel Zibin, Na'elah Hasan Naimat https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-13
publication date: 2025-11-13
starting page: 313
ending page: 341
doi: 10.14762/

Review: Nadja Capus, Cornelia Griebel & Ivana Havelka (2024). Multilingual Communications Surveillance in Criminal Law. The Role of Intercept Interpreter-translators. Edward Elgar Publishing. 212 pp.
type: item
description: Review Cite as: Salaets, JLL 14 (2025), F1–F6, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.f1
subject: Forum: Comments and Reviews
  topic: section
creator: Heidi Salaets
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Heidi Salaets https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-03-20
publication date: 2025-03-20
starting page: F1
ending page: F6
doi: 10.14762/

Artificial Intelligence in Legal Translation at the Court of Justice of the European Union
type: item
description: In the unique institutional context of the Court of Justice of the European Union, what could and should be the place of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal translation? To answer that question, it is necessary to understand the parameters within which the Court’s legal translation service operates, and the choices that have been made in respect of multilingualism in the face of a growing workload, budgetary restrictions, and the Court’s obligation to maintain the functioning of EU justice. It is equally important to understand the Court’s institutional position on AI, how AI is currently used within the legal translation service, and the challenges AI currently poses. The future of AI in legal translation at the Court will depend not only on technological progress and the specificities of the EU’s multilingual framework, but also on a careful assessment in relation to the desired translation output, the methods used in its production, and the impact of AI’s growing role on human resources. In spite of its current limitations and unpredictable future, AI has the potential to enhance rapid multilingual access to EU justice and case-law and contribute to a ‘beneficial’ future. This is a matter of importance for all those subject to EU law, given the extent to which AI can be abused and the climate of rising nationalism within and beyond the EU. Cite as: Wright, JLL 14 (2025), 120–142, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.120
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: Court of Justice of the European Union
  topic: keywords
subject: multilingualism
  topic: keywords
subject: access to law and justice
  topic: keywords
subject: legal translation
  topic: keywords
subject: artificial intelligence
  topic: keywords
subject: neural machine translation
  topic: keywords
subject: fit for purpose
  topic: keywords
subject: management of human resources
  topic: keywords
creator: Susan Wright
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Susan Wright https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-07
publication date: 2025-05-07
starting page: 120
ending page: 142
doi: 10.14762/

Is Artificial Intelligence Capable of Validating Language Policy Choices in the Translation of EU Legislation?
type: item
description: It is now commonplace that one of the professions seriously threatened to be taken over by the AI is that of the translators. Increasingly professionalised AI-based translation tools have, if not yet displaced translation, already transformed it. Translators are now more involved in post-editing work, i.e. checking the adequacy of the text translated by the AI for content and terminological consistency. This is no different in today's biggest translation hub, the European Union. But using AI-based translation tools also means that the primary linguistic decisions, including the choice of terms, would be made by the tool and not by the translator. However, this feature can pose significant challenges for EU law. On the one hand, because of the autonomy of EU law, new terms are still emerging and need to be properly reflected in the official languages, and on the other hand, in fast-developing fields, legislation is often adopted at EU level before it is drafted at national level, and the terms used in the European acts are therefore first settled there. Given that the language versions of EU law are official and authentic, the wording and terminology of the EU instruments automatically become part of that national language, so language choices of this kind are also language policy and language development choices taken at EU level but with serious national implications. The question is to what extent AI can help in making these choices. Cite as: Somssich, JLL 14 (2025), 99–119, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.099
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: European language policy
  topic: keywords
subject: national language policy
  topic: keywords
subject: loanwords
  topic: keywords
subject: adaptation of words
  topic: keywords
subject: drafting language
  topic: keywords
subject: neural translation tool
  topic: keywords
creator: Réka Somssich
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Réka Somssich https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-02
publication date: 2025-05-02
starting page: 99
ending page: 119
doi: 10.14762/

The Multilingualism Paradox in EU Law
type: item
description: EU law is equally authentic in 24 languages. This is a unique achievement of the European Union (EU), which also greatly enhances the legal certainty within its legal order by enabling individuals to ascertain their rights and obligations under EU law in their own language. Moreover, it is settled case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that EU regulations are not enforceable against individuals in an EU Member State if the regulation has not been officially published in the language of that Member State. At the same time, however, reliance on one's own language version is only relative. Indeed, it is settled case law that individuals cannot rely solely on a particular language version of EU law read in isolation. The true meaning of EU law must be determined by a purposive interpretation in the light of all language versions. One or more language versions may therefore prove to be inaccurate. This paper examines this paradox. It argues that individuals should not have to bear the burden of linguistic inconsistencies Cite as: Van der Jeught, JLL 14 (2025), 81–98, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.081
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: multilingualism
  topic: keywords
subject: law
  topic: keywords
subject: EU
  topic: keywords
subject: legal certainty
  topic: keywords
subject: reliance on one linguistic version
  topic: keywords
creator: Stefaan van der Jeught
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Stefaan van der Jeught https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-07
publication date: 2025-05-07
starting page: 81
ending page: 98
doi: 10.14762/

Les Enjeux de l’Intelligence Artificielle pour la Traduction Juridique au Sein de l’Union Européenne
type: item
description: L’intelligence artificielle (IA) occupe une place grandissante dans les services de traduction des institutions européennes, ce qui conduit tout naturellement à en faire une thématique de plus en plus fréquente dans les colloques sur la traduction, en général, et sur la traduction juridique, en particulier. Cette question interdisciplinaire quant aux enjeux posés par l’IA en ce premier quart du vingt-et-unième siècle réunit à la fois des linguistes, des juristes, des traductologues, qu’ils soient théoriciens ou praticiens. Les questions que soulève l’IA en matière de traduction juridique réalisée au sein des institutions européennes révèlent deux enjeux principaux autour desquels s’articulera le propos de l’auteure propos. La place grandissante occupée par l’IA et le recours croissant à la traduction automatique neuronale (TAN) au sein des services de traduction de l’UE sert à relever le défi de la quantité exponentielle de traductions. Le second enjeu qui en découle porte sur la qualité du transfert de sens opéré à l’issu du processus de traduction et le risque que l’IA est susceptible de faire courir à la sécurité juridique. Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in the translation services of the European institutions, which has naturally led to it becoming a more frequent theme in conferences on translation in general, and legal translation in particular. This interdisciplinary issue of the challenges posed by AI in the first quarter of the twenty-first century brings together linguists, lawyers and translators, both theoreticians and practitioners. The issues raised by AI in legal translation within European institutions reveal two main challenges around which I will focus. The growing role of AI and the increasing use of neural machine translation (NMT) in EU translation services are challenging the correct transfer of meaning and the quality of translation. The second related issue concerns the legal effects of translation and …
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: intelligence artificielle
  topic: keywords
subject: traduction automatique neuronale
  topic: keywords
subject: qualité de la traduction juridique
  topic: keywords
subject: sécurité juridique
  topic: keywords
subject: artificial intelligence
  topic: keywords
subject: neural machine translation
  topic: keywords
subject: quality of legal translation
  topic: keywords
subject: legal certainty
  topic: keywords
creator: Sylvie Monjean-Decaudin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Sylvie Monjean-Decaudin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-15
publication date: 2025-06-15
starting page: 194
ending page: 203
doi: 10.14762/

Le «Paradigme de la Traduction» et l’Apprentissage Profond
type: item
description: In two books published in 2009, the jurist and philosopher François Ost develops the notion of a “translation paradigm”, of which law could be a privileged field of application and the construction of European law the most convincing example (Ost, 2009a; Ost, 2009b). Through this analysis, Ost positions himself within a specific tradition of translation studies and establishes a dichotomy between the “translation paradigm” and the “communication paradigm”, an opposition that underpins his critique of a machine translation model (Ost, 2009b). This paper suggests that revisiting Ost’s two works today can provide valuable retrospective insights into the issues raised by the development of machine translation systems based on deep learning, with respect to a “translation paradigm” that, according to the author, could account for both the work of the translator and some of the everyday operations of jurists (Ost, 2009a). Deux ouvrages du juriste et philosophe François Ost, parus en 2009, développent l’idée d’un « paradigme de la traduction » dont le droit constituerait « un champ d’application privilégié » et « la construction du droit européen » l’exemple plus convaincant (Ost 2009a : 8-9 et Ost 2009b : 415). Ce faisant, l’auteur s’inscrit dans une certaine tradition de réflexion traductologique et établit une opposition entre le « paradigme de la traduction » et le « paradigme de la communication » (Ost 2009b : 18) qui le conduit à une critique d’un modèle de traduction automatique. Nous formons l’hypothèse que relire aujourd’hui ces deux ouvrages de François Ost peut aider à discerner rétrospectivement quelques-uns des enjeux liés au développement des systèmes de traduction automatique, fondés sur l’apprentissage profond, pour un « paradigme de la traduction » susceptible de rendre compte, selon l’auteur, du travail du traducteur comme de « certaines des opérations les plus quotidiennes des juristes » (Ost 2009a : 8). Cite as: Talbot, JLL 14 (2025),174–193, DOI: 10.1…
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: traductologie juridique
  topic: keywords
subject: traduction automatique
  topic: keywords
subject: histoire des théories de la traduction
  topic: keywords
subject: legal translation studies
  topic: keywords
subject: machine translation
  topic: keywords
subject: history of translation theories
  topic: keywords
creator: Aurélien Talbot
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Aurélien Talbot https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-10
publication date: 2025-06-10
starting page: 174
ending page: 193
doi: 10.14762/

Towards Clear, Simple, and Inclusive Legal Language
type: item
description: This study explores the potential for GAI language models and Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to be used as writing aids in the transformation of expert content into clear, simple and inclusive language. In particular, we focus on the feasibility of fully automating the reformulation of legal texts, and the challenges of setting standards for automatically generating content in multilingual settings. While automatic assistants can already produce effective summaries and simplified versions of complex legal texts, we suggest that they lack the functional awareness and metalinguistic reflexivity that are particular to human review and revision. We illustrate this by examining a series of authentic examples. First, we look at tools like ChatGPT which can be configured to summarise complex legal documents and generate texts aligned using the guidelines for Plain Language (PL) and Easy-to-Read (E2R). We give examples of linguistic features, outputs from NLP models, and GAI-generated content evaluation. Our initial observations suggest that while automatic assistants can produce greatly simplified texts, they are unable to take into account legal implications and contextual reasoning. Then we look at the issue of prescriptive guidelines in the light of the new paradigm of content management. Comparing examples of official discourse and their equivalents ‘translated’ into E2R, we find that the reformulations involved reflect the very different functional requirements of such radically simplified texts. This observation leads us to stress the importance of human oversight in auto-generated content, as well as the need for guidelines, integrated revision tools, transparency, user training, and continuous monitoring. Cite as: Zimina-Poirot et al., JLL 14 (2025), 143–173, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.143
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: computer-mediated communication (CMC)
  topic: keywords
subject: easy-to-read (E2R)
  topic: keywords
subject: generative artificial intelligence (GAI)
  topic: keywords
subject: legal discourse
  topic: keywords
subject: natural language processing (NLP)
  topic: keywords
subject: plain language (PL)
  topic: keywords
subject: recontextualisation
  topic: keywords
subject: training for language professionals
  topic: keywords
creator: Maria Zimina-Poirot
creator: Christopher Gledhill
creator: Manon Bouyé
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Zimina-Poirot, Christopher Gledhill, Manon Bouyé https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-20
publication date: 2025-05-20
starting page: 143
ending page: 173
doi: 10.14762/

A Comparative Study of Accuracy in Human vs. AI Translation of Legal Documents into Arabic
type: item
description: This study investigates the comparative accuracy of human and AI-generated translations of legal documents into Arabic, focusing specifically on the performance of ChatGPT against human translations. This study employs a comparative research design, where a corpus of words 20,000 words from legal texts, including contracts and agreements, translated by both AI and professional human translators. The research aimed to assess three primary dimensions: correct legal terminology usage, clarity of expression, and adherence to the Arabic legal framework. Through a structured evaluation process, key findings revealed that human translations significantly outperformed AI-generated versions in all assessed criteria. Human translators demonstrated superior mastery of legal terminology and clarity in complex legal constructs, as well as adherence to formal legal standards and cultural differences inherent in Arabic legal contexts. While AI tools like ChatGPT show promise in producing contextually relevant translations for simpler texts, they often fall short in capturing the precise legal terminology and complex constructs required for effective legal communication. This research highlights the continued necessity of skilled human translators in the legal field and suggests a hybrid approach that leverages AI tools to augment human expertise in translation processes. Cite as: Altakhaineh et al., JLL 14 (2025), 63-80, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.063
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: translation accuracy
  topic: keywords
subject: human translation
  topic: keywords
subject: AI translation
  topic: keywords
subject: legal documents
  topic: keywords
subject: Arabic language
  topic: keywords
subject: translation evaluation
  topic: keywords
subject: corpus analysis
  topic: keywords
creator: Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh
creator: Ghazi Ayed Alghathian
creator: Mashal Mufleh Jarrah
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh, Ghazi Ayed Alghathian , Mashal Mufleh Jarrah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-04-05
publication date: 2025-04-05
starting page: 63
ending page: 80
doi: 10.14762/

Reading or Listening Between the Lines
type: item
description: Jurors' comprehension of jury instructions (JIs) is pivotal for ensuring fair legal proceedings (Charrow & Charrow, 1979). This study investigates the impact of different presentation modes on JI comprehensibility, utilizing a novel comprehension assessment method. Contrary to the misconception that listening is passive, prolonged active listening, such as during JIs, may accelerate cognitive fatigue (Schneider et al., 2019). To address this issue, this study tests the effect of different modes of presentation: listening-only, reading while listening (synchronous), and first reading-only then listening (asynchronous), building upon earlier findings (Randall, 2013, 2015). Sixty participants from undergraduate courses were randomly assigned to five groups based on the mode of JI presentation and access to written instructions during deliberation. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving comprehension assessments, perception surveys and qualitative analysis. Quantitative analyses revealed that while the hypotheses regarding presentation mode and access to written instructions were not fully supported, asynchronous exposure to both spoken and written instructions demonstrated slightly superior performance compared to synchronous exposure. Access to written instructions during scenario-based tasks showed slightly better performance and more positive emotions, suggesting its potential effectiveness in aiding jurors' comprehension and confidence. Moreover, qualitative analysis shed light on nuanced reasoning behind participants’ choices. The findings indicated that correct answers did not always align with correct interpretations, and participants struggled to synthesize and apply JIs when scenarios were less straightforward. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering presentation modes and written access in enhancing juror comprehension. The positive impact of varied modalities underscores the need for ongoing evaluation and refinement of JI prac…
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: jury instructions
  topic: keywords
subject: legal language
  topic: keywords
subject: comprehension assessment
  topic: keywords
subject: presentation mode
  topic: keywords
subject: reading and listening
  topic: keywords
subject: juror comprehension
  topic: keywords
subject: scenario-based tasks
  topic: keywords
creator: Francesca Grixoni
creator: Nur Yağmur Demir
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Francesca Grixoni, Nur Yağmur Demir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-21
publication date: 2025-06-21
starting page: 204
ending page: 239
doi: 10.14762/

Linguistic Analysis of the Law of Georgia on Foreign Influence Transparency
type: item
description: This study presents a linguistic analysis of Georgia's Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence utilizing three primary analytical approaches. First, a lexical-semantic analysis of terms assesses the specificity and precision of the terms within the law. Second, corpus-linguistic analysis employs text corpora—extensive electronic text collections—to examine word combinations (collocations) and their connotations. Finally, the discursive analysis explores the law’s argumentative structure and the legislative discourse, considering contemporary and historical contexts. The findings across these analyses reveal the following patterns. The law’s title and text embedded with these terms seem to overlook the nuanced socio-cultural and historical contexts, particularly the legacies of imperial oppression. The research underscores that the law's conceptual and terminological framework is inherently hostile. The key terms and their modifiers carry negative semantic weight, contributing to a legal language that alienates citizens, stigmatizes foreign-funded civil society and media organizations, and facilitates their marginalization. The key terms in the law have historically and currently negative connotations. These terms evoke associations linked to Georgia's past experiences of repression and discrimination, resonating with aggressive and humiliating undertones. The analysis highlights the need for a more balanced and contextually sensitive legal language to avoid perpetuating historical prejudices and to support democratic and civil progress. Cite as: Tabatadze et al., JLL 14 (2025), 256–289, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.256
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: linguistic analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: lexical-semantic analysis of terms
  topic: keywords
subject: corpus-linguistic analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: discursive framework
  topic: keywords
subject: law of Georgia on transparency of foreign influence
  topic: keywords
creator: Shalva Tabatadze
creator: Kakha Gabunia
creator: Marina Beridze
creator: Zakharia Pourtskhvanidze
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Shalva Tabatadze, Kakha Gabunia, Marina Beridze, Zakharia Pourtskhvanidze https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-14
publication date: 2025-07-14
starting page: 256
ending page: 289
doi: 10.14762/

A Pragma-Linguistic Interpretation of Legal Communication
type: item
description: Legal communication, particularly in constitutional texts, is said to be characterized by its precision, formality, and strategic use of language. However, this precision often coexists with ambiguities that invite diverse interpretations, particularly in highly charged political contexts. This study examines the pragma-linguistic features of Sections 133 and 134 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, focusing on the presuppositions and implicatures embedded within these provisions. Using an utterance-by-utterance analytical approach, the study investigates how the linguistic nuances of these sections formed the basis for legal arguments/turssles and political narratives across the nation during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election involving Tinubu and Obi. Drawing on theories of presupposition and implicature, the analysis uncovers the implicit assumptions and inferred meanings encoded in the constitutional language. The findings reveal how the stylo-linguistic choices in legal drafting, such as presuppositions, can form the interpretive basis in legal disputations. It also reveals how implicatures arising from legal texts can create rooms for legal contestation and generate political discourse in a nation. In general, the study further shows how the pragmatic elements of legal language may influence judicial interpretations, public discourse as well as the acceptability or rejection of an electoral outcome. This research underscores the interpretive inevitability of pragma-linguistic instrumentality to the analysis and interpretation of legal texts particularly in contexts where constitutional provisions intersect with political controversies. By illuminating the implicit dimensions of legal communication, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how language mediates legal reasoning and democratic governance, offering insights for both linguistic scholarship and legal/constitutional endeavors. Cite as: Ajenifari et al., JLL 14 (…
subject: Forum: Comments and Reviews
  topic: section
subject: pragmatics
  topic: keywords
subject: legal communication
  topic: keywords
subject: presupposition
  topic: keywords
subject: implicature
  topic: keywords
subject: politics
  topic: keywords
subject: constitutional interpretation
  topic: keywords
creator: Taiwo Joshua Ajenifari
creator: Samuel Adabayo OMOTUNDE
creator: Uche OBOKO
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 AJENIFARI J.T., Dr. OMOTUNDE Samuel Adabayo , Dr. OBOKO U . https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-07
publication date: 2025-05-07
starting page: F7
ending page: F23
doi: 10.14762/

Embracing New Translation Technologies at International Organizations
type: item
description: This study presents the results of a large-scale survey of institutional translation professionals on the distinctive features of post-editing (as compared to revision in particular), the main issues found in neural machine translation (NMT) and the impact of its use on translation processes, products and competences. The quantitative and qualitative findings illustrate the diversification of tools and inputs in current translation workflows, the risks and efforts associated with NMT, and the reinforced need for solid translation competence and subject matter knowledge to ensure translation quality. The (mostly limited) variations found between institutions and translators’ experience levels are also discussed. The evidence gathered supports a revised concept of translation that considers an increasingly hybrid and dynamic mix of translational actions in augmented translation environments. In turn, these results highlight the persistent relevance of translation expertise and specialized translator training, and contribute to nuancing our understanding of the implications of NMT for professional translation, beyond institutional settings. Cite as: Prieto Ramos, JLL 14 (2025), 1–29, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.001
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: neural machine translation
  topic: keywords
subject: post-editing
  topic: keywords
subject: revision
  topic: keywords
subject: institutional translation
  topic: keywords
subject: international organizations
  topic: keywords
subject: translator competence
  topic: keywords
subject: augmented translation
  topic: keywords
subject: translation process
  topic: keywords
subject: translation quality
  topic: keywords
creator: Fernando Prieto Ramos
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Fernando Prieto Ramos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-07
publication date: 2025-02-07
starting page: 1
ending page: 29
doi: 10.14762/

Applying Large Language Models in Legal Translation
type: item
description: While there is no denying that new AI technologies and tools are making a significant impact on translation, specialized translation remains problematic for automation especially in regard to terminology. Precise and consistent terminology use requires particular attention in the field of legal translation as a sensitive area affecting the whole of the society. Most recently, tools based on large language models have been gaining attention as potential game changers in the area of legal translation. How do such tools cope with the complexity of legal terminology and legal texts? Can they be trusted to perform the task of legal translation? To investigate this, a two-stage research methodology is applied: first, an analysis of papers published on the topic of large language models and legal translation by relying on quantitative bibliographic and bibliometric indicators, and second, a qualitative content analysis of the retrieved papers. The results show that despite the unparalleled interest into the application of generative AI in all spheres of life, to date there has been scarce research on its application in the field of legal translation. The results of this study therefore provide detailed insight into the state-of-the-art research on this novel topic, tracing the current and proposing future research trajectories. With a view of examining the potential and liabilities of using LLMs in legal translation, it is instrumental to conduct further empirical studies from interdisciplinary perspectives including diverse legal texts and both low and high-resourced languages. Cite as: Bajcic & Golenko, JLL 13, 171–196 , DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.171
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: legal translation
  topic: keywords
subject: terminology
  topic: keywords
subject: generative AI
  topic: keywords
subject: NMT
  topic: keywords
subject: bibliometric study
  topic: keywords
creator: Martina Bajčić
creator: Dejana Golenko
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Martina Bajcic, Deajana Golenko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-11-27
publication date: 2024-11-27
starting page: 171
ending page: 196
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.171

Building the Australian Legislative Corpus 2023
type: item
description: This article introduces and details the construction of the Australian Legislative Corpus 2023 (‘ALC23’). The ALC23 includes relevant legislation from each Australian jurisdiction that was in force as at 30 June 2023, and is intended to act as a general corpus of a specialised nature. The article begins by providing a brief overview of corpus linguistic applications in the legal sphere, before summarising current legal corpora. Following this, the article details the composition of the ALC23, before moving to discuss how issues in construction were overcome. The article also notes potential applications of the ALC23, including a case study of how the word “gender” is used in the ALC23. The article concludes with some potential limitations that may be of note to both corpus linguists and legal scholars. Crucially, this article is written from the perspective of a legal scholar, which means that the creation, and use, of the ALC23 is intended to be made accessible to scholars who have a limited background in linguistic theory, method, and programming. Cite as: Genovese, JLL 14 (2025), 30–62, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2025.030
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: legal corpora
  topic: keywords
subject: corpus linguistics
  topic: keywords
subject: legal linguistics
  topic: keywords
subject: law and language
  topic: keywords
creator: Emma Genovese
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Emma Genovese https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-21
publication date: 2025-02-21
starting page: 30
ending page: 62
doi: 10.14762/

The Interplay of Language and Law
type: item
description: Previous studies have examined the nexus between language and law in order to address various issues unique to the Nigerian legal systems. However, little attention has been accorded to how this relationship within the legal system reflects linguistic dominance, lack of language access, power imbalances, and inequality, all of which have an impact on the pursuit of justice by marginalised groups in a multilingual and multiethnic society like Nigeria. Consequently, this article investigates the nexus between language and law as well as the power dynamics present in the Nigerian legal system. The study attempts to elucidate the discursive tactics and underlying power dynamics in Nigeria’s legal system that affect legal representation, court proceedings, and access to justice. The discussion points to solutions for resolving the problems of linguistic supremacy, limited language access, power disparities, and inequality. The article makes several recommendations, including offering language access services and interpretation to improve comprehension of documents and court proceedings; providing culturally aware legal education and training to practitioners; encouraging the use of plain language in court documents and proceedings; guaranteeing reasonably priced legal services; and addressing systemic biases and barriers by encouraging diversity and representation among legal professionals. The study is exigent because it provides facts that could lead to policy changes that would balance power disparities in the legal system, revitalise indigenous languages, and promote a more inclusive and equitable legal system in Nigeria. Cite as: Aluya et al., JLL 13 (2024), F24–F33, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.F24
subject: Forum: Comments and Reviews
  topic: section
subject: Language
  topic: keywords
subject: law
  topic: keywords
subject: legalese
  topic: keywords
subject: power dynamics
  topic: keywords
creator: Isaiah Aluya
creator: Oladeji Folasade Olukemi
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Dr., Mrs https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-10-21
publication date: 2024-10-21
starting page: F24
ending page: F33
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.F24

Linguistic Precedent as a Form of Linguistic Replication
type: item
description: This paper examines the interrelation of linguistic precedent and legal precedent, employing the lens of formulaic language as a bridge between these two domains. The first part of the paper is concerned with the argument that linguistic precedent is a form of linguistic replication. This argument is based on the premises that a) language repetition is a form of linguistic replication, b) that language use is a form of repetition and c) that linguistic precedent is a form of language use. The evidence for these premises is provided using insights and findings from Dawkins’ meme theory, linguistics, history of law and cognitive science. After that I explore the semantic aspects of linguistic precedent and I propose that linguistic precedent is a form of linguistic replication by means of which two or more situations are represented as being the same. After discussing the theoretical foundations of the notion of linguistic precedent I suggest that linguistic precedent indicates to the reader that there are some more general principles and rules that underlie legal reasoning. I further propose that it is on the basis of such generalized casuistic relations between linguistically chained cases or case-based reasoning, that legal precedent emerges. Cite as: Trklja, JLL 13 (2024), 97–117, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.097
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: linguistic precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistic replication
  topic: keywords
subject: formulaicity
  topic: keywords
subject: language use
  topic: keywords
subject: casuistic relation
  topic: keywords
creator: Aleksandar Trklja
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Aleksandar Trklja https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
starting page: 97
ending page: 117
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.097

Path Dependency or Dynamic Consistency in EU Anti-Discrimination Law?
type: item
description: Has EU anti-discrimination law developed in a straight line through the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)? According to studies relying on path dependency theories, the answer would be yes. Studies relying on path dependence build on the premise that jurisprudence continues in a line of reasoning from the earliest to the latest judgments, and in different areas of the law, as a result of a lock-in process of analogical reasoning. In this article we show why the theoretical framework of path dependency cannot account for court driven legal development, specifically in the area of EU anti-discrimination law, and how difficult it is to empirically substantiate the argument of path dependency. We conduct an empirical test of the path dependency theory in CJEU’s case law within the area of anti-discrimination law. In order to do so, we build a case law citation network from where we can detect precedents as the most cited paragraphs of the cases. We explore the ways in which these precedents travel through the entire jurisprudence in flows of information and on this basis test for path dependency as similarity between citing and cited paragraphs. We find no signs of path dependency. The objective of this paper is to supplement the scholarship on path dependency by pointing to its limitations and methodological constraints. On the basis of our study, we propose to adjust the theory of case law development away from that of path dependency and towards what we choose to call case law which is dynamically consistent. Cite as: Frese & Mones, JLL 13 (2024), 71–96, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.071 <img class="citavipicker" style="border: 0px none!important; width: 16px!important; height: 16px!important; margin-left: 1px !important; margin-right: 1px !important;" title="Titel anhand dieser DOI in Citavi-Projekt übernehmen" src="[binary]" />
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: path dependency
  topic: keywords
subject: EU anti-discrimination law
  topic: keywords
subject: CJEU
  topic: keywords
subject: precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: empirical test
  topic: keywords
subject: dynamic consistency
  topic: keywords
creator: Amalie Frese
creator: Enys Mones
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Amalie Frese, Enys Mones https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
starting page: 71
ending page: 96
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.071

CJEU Case Law as a Source of Law in National Courts
type: item
description: A number of theories have demonstrated how the distinction between legislation and adjudication is becoming blurred, with judgments no longer treated solely as matters for the parties to the case, but as sources of law in their own right. Case law is increasingly being produced and consumed in a manner akin to legislation. On the production side, it is clear that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), well-known for its formulas and tests, contributes to the use of case law as a source of law. This article develops the discussion in two ways. Firstly, it concentrates on the consumer perspective, by discussing the use of CJEU case law in national courts. Secondly, it advances the discussion from language in general, in the sense of drafting, to multilingualism ‒ the existence of not one but many official languages ‒ and the consequences for the use of CJEU case law as a source of law. This article demonstrates that national courts are prepared to engage with CJEU case law on a very detailed level, scrutinizing the wording and even comparing different language versions of the judgment to understand the correct way to apply the rule-like pronouncements of the CJEU. This scrutiny includes awareness of de jure and de facto originals of CJEU judgments, but goes still further through the use of the established approach for multilingual interpretation of EU legislation. It also highlights the use of standard phrases in CJEU case law and the consistency of translation. Cite as: Derlén, JLL 13 (2024), 50–70, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.050
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: multilingual interpretation
  topic: keywords
subject: textualization of precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: Court of Justice of the European Union
  topic: keywords
subject: CJEU
  topic: keywords
subject: national courts
  topic: keywords
creator: Mattias Derlén
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Mattias Derlén https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.050

De Facto Precedent at the Court of Justice of the European Union
type: item
description: This paper seeks to demonstrate that although there is no official doctrine of precedent in judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the research affirms that there is a de facto system of precedent. This means that whilst, de jure, there is no official precedent status of the case law of the CJEU, the Court does give precedential value to its own case law through interpretive practices to ensure the uniform application of law and legal certainty throughout the Member States of the European Union (EU). When one looks at the elements of precedent it is apparent that this goes beyond its legal value (i.e. authority or bindingness) or conscious jurisprudential choice – language also plays a role. This article will examine discussions and models of precedent in common law and civil law legal systems in both theory and practice, before going on to examine the theories and practices of precedent at the CJEU. Cite as: Ng, JLL 13 (2024), 28–49, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.028
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: common law
  topic: keywords
subject: civil law
  topic: keywords
subject: CJEU
  topic: keywords
subject: interpretation
  topic: keywords
creator: Gar Yein Ng
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Gar Yein Ng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.028

Precedent in EU Law
type: item
description: This paper sets out a practitioner’s view of both the nature of decisional practice, and precedents in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based on some 40 years of experience of judicial disputes. I consider the specific case of CJEU precedents (including both the Court of Justice (ECJ) and the General Court (GC)), before moving on to comment on how EU precedents have been handled by the CJEU and, before Brexit, by English courts. From a practitioner’s perspective it is always necessary to take account of varying factors that may cause a court to decide one way rather than another. Accordingly, it is not sufficient to rely on an earlier decision as a precedent: the underlying justification for the precedent and its continuing relevance to the case in hand must always be borne in mind. Cite as: Lasok, JLL 13 (2024), 8–27, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.008
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: case law
  topic: keywords
subject: decisional practice
  topic: keywords
subject: direct effect
  topic: keywords
subject: jurisprudence
  topic: keywords
subject: precedent
  topic: keywords
creator: Paul Lasok
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Paul Lasok https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
starting page: 8
ending page: 27
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.008

Introduction
type: item
description: This paper introduces the special issue of JLL on Precedent in EU Law: The Linguistic Aspect. This introduction first sets out the context for the discussion of how language, multilingualism and translation may impact the development of a de facto precedent in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and introduces the notion of linguistic precedent. Second, it provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue. This special issue is a follow-up on a number of workshops and discussions held in the context of the FP7-funded project Law and Language at the European Court of Justice between 2015‒2020. The contributions to the special issue, from scholars and practitioners, address various aspects of the linguistic element in the development of a de facto precedent in CJEU judgments. These reflections on linguistic precedent and how it relates to the formulation and application of ‘precedents’ in EU jurisprudence highlight an aspect of the interpretation and application of EU case law that has, to date, largely been ignored by scholars and practitioners. Drawing attention to this linguistic element in precedents and decisional practices allows for a more rounded understanding of how EU case law develops and functions. Cite as: McAuliffe & Trklja, JLL 13 (2024), 1–7, DOI: 10.14762/jll.2024.001
subject: Special Issue
  topic: section
subject: precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistic precedent
  topic: keywords
subject: multilingualism
  topic: keywords
subject: legal translation
  topic: keywords
subject: Court of Justice of the European Union
  topic: keywords
subject: CJEU
  topic: keywords
creator: Karen McAuliffe
creator: Aleksandar Trklja
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Karen McAuliffe, Aleksandar Trklja https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-07-15
publication date: 2024-07-15
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.001

Interpreting rapport
type: item
description: Rapport-building is considered to be one of the keys to successful investigative interviewing. Given the importance of rapport-building techniques, this study focuses on how rapport is linguistically conveyed in interpreter-mediated police interviews with victims of crime, bearing in mind that rapport-building is linguistically and culturally sensitive, which means that it is important to prepare individuals (police forces, but also other parties involved, such as police interpreters or social workers) to bridge the gap between different languages and cultures in legal proceedings and other sensitive communicative contexts. Using a discourse-pragmatic approach, the study analyses trainee interpreters’ renditions of police rapport-building, focusing on the linguistic conveyance of rapport-building in training practice, in order to explore how these trainee interpreters deal with aspects of rapport-building in police interviews into English and into Spanish. The findings confirm that conveying rapport and rapport-relevant expressions is challenging, particularly in relation to pragmatic equivalence. These findings provide a better understanding of the factors that impact the outcome of the interpretation in the context of rapport-building conveyance, and have theoretical and practical implications for interpreting training.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: police interpreting
  topic: keywords
subject: rapport
  topic: keywords
subject: cross-linguistic challenges
  topic: keywords
subject: investigative interviewing
  topic: keywords
creator: Maria Gomez-Bedoya
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Maria Gomez-Bedoya https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-11-08
publication date: 2024-11-08
starting page: 148
ending page: 170
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.148

Evolution and Dialect Perception
type: item
description: Little experimental work of direct relevance to Language Analysis in the Asylum Procedure (LAAP) has yet been conducted; neither has theory-building attracted much serious attention. Here I attempt to construct a theory of native speaker competence in dialect perception founded on insights from sociocultural evolution, variationist sociolinguistics, social psychology and antireductionist philosophy. I also augment the limited stock of relevant empirical work with an experimental study involving Yorkshire English as the ‘target’ dialect and a range of listener groups, from Yorkshire and elsewhere, with and without an educational background in linguistics. Participants in the study (N = 197) were presented with 10, c. 10-second voice samples – four featuring Yorkshire speakers and six featuring non-Yorkshire speakers from the ‘linguistic north’ of England – and asked ‘Is this a Yorkshire accent?’. All participants were native speakers of English. Results of the study suggest that having been born and raised in Yorkshire is the most robust predictor of the ability to accurately perceive Yorkshire speakers. A statistically significant effect on accuracy found for linguistic education is likely attributable to imbalances in the listener sample. I interpret these findings as broadly consistent with the proposed theory of dialect perception, which emphasises bottom-up acuities conferred by the evolution of human sociality rather than – as previously proposed – the enlightening effect of linguistic education. I also discuss the possible consequences of these findings for current approaches to LAAP, considering especially the types of speaker-listeners best suited to perform the linguistic analyses required.
subject: Research Articles
  topic: section
subject: Language Analysis in the Asylum Procedure
  topic: keywords
subject: LAAP
  topic: keywords
subject: Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin
  topic: keywords
subject: LADO
  topic: keywords
subject: asylum-seekers
  topic: keywords
subject: dialect recognition
  topic: keywords
subject: language
  topic: keywords
subject: evolution
  topic: keywords
subject: dialect perception
  topic: keywords
creator: Jim Hoskin
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Jim Hoskin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-06-18
publication date: 2024-06-18
starting page: 118
ending page: 147
doi: 10.14762/jll.2024.118