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The subject of law comes under the heading of “general translation” rather than “technical translation”. However, I would say that German legal translation is a very specialised field with a lot of subject-specific terminology and phraseology. You have to do more than simply translate a German text into English – you also need a good grasp of the subject matter, and to use correct English legal terminology. German law is different..
There is an added complication for German legal texts – different systems of law:- German (and most continental European) law is codified law (civil law jurisdiction). It has its origins in Roman law and was strongly influenced by Napoleonic laws after 1830. - Anglo-Saxon countries (US, UK, Australia etc.) have a system of common law. Luckily for the German translator working in Europe, much national law defers to European law which is applicable to all member countries of the EU, both English and German-speaking countries. The European Commission issues an official EU terminology database of the legal terminology used within the European Union. But when dealing with national law, in a German-speaking country, some research will often be needed. In general, because the systems of law in German-speaking and Anglo-Saxon countries differ, translating German legal terms into English often requires some explanation as well as translation, and you need to be aware of “official”, accepted English translations for specific German legal terminology.
The word on the net is that it’s hard to find a good online German legal translation dictionary or glossary, but that the LEO online German English dictionary is probably as good as any. I’d have to agree there. Worth noting, too, is that there are significant differences in legal terminology between Germany, Austria and Switzerland – we are back to context! Context! Context! I have tracked down the following German legal translation glossaries and dictionaries: Bilingual Glossaries of Legal Terminology1. Criminal law & related areas : published by the Swiss Federal Statistical office (This is a PDF which might take a little time to download, so it opens in a new window). 2. A glossary of tort law from English to German, useful for cross-referencing. 3. A new Swiss legal dictionary being compiled by Swiss lawyer Sascha Stocker, around 600 terms at the moment but growing. German Monolingual Sources:1. Lex Exakt This is fundamentally a monolingual source focused at students of German law, explaining German legal terminology in German. There is also an English-German dictionary which is currently being expanded. 2.
A monolingual lexicon of German legal terms
- from the akademie.de English Monolingual Sources:1. The Centre for German Legal Information - a great resources database, all in English. 2. The German Law Archive - an archive of German legal cases, statutes, literature and bibliographies translated into English - a great reference source for your German legal translation queries. 3. The Austrian Federal Chancellery publishes all the Austrian laws which have currently been translated into English. Great for cross referencing purposes.
Working in German legal translation:Most professional translators are thorough and precise and will make every effort to ensure that a term has been properly translated – it’s the nature of the profession. But even so, if you are a German translator specialising in German legal translation then it’s worth considering professional indemnity insurance, and adding a disclaimer to the foot of your translated texts.... just in case! If you know of any good German legal glossaries that you've found useful and would like to recommend, then we'd love to hear from you! Use the form below (I will NOT pass your details on to anyone!)to submit your suggested source and we'll add it to the list. Thank you very much for contributing to our database! Yours 
German Translation Tips & Resources See also German Technical Translation
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