Language and Law/Linguagem e Direito is an international online journal edited at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto, Portugal, and the Federal University of Santa Catarina - UFSC, Brazil. The journal is published twice a year, and includes articles in all varieties of both Portuguese and English.
A special issue on legal translation has just been published, although articles on the subject do appear in other issues too.
Today’s post is a thoughtful Monday smile – I wanted to share with you a paper entitled “Banter from the Bench: The Use of Humour in the Exercise of Judicial Functions” by Jack Oakley from Clifford Chance, and Brian Opeskin from Macquarie Law School, Australia.
Hurry, hurry – there is a vacancy for a Translator (from English to French) on a one-year contract with the possibility of extension, at the central Bank of Canada / Banque du Canada. Applications close 2 August 2016.
The Sixth International Conference on Law, Language and Discourse will take place at the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel from 1-4 August 2016. The theme is “The development of legal language and its interpretation: Linguistic and pragmatic aspects of the evolution of the synchronic understanding of legal texts”. Despite the proximity of the date, registration is still open.
Previous conferences held in China and Sweden have also examined the theme of how synchronous understanding of legal language and judicial interpretation has developed through history.
I’m sure that many of you will be interested in a book published in 2014 by Edward Elgar Publishing entitled “Contract Law: A Comparative Introduction“. The author is the estimable Jan M. Smits, Professor of European Private Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
“This book offers a unique introduction to contract law by means of a comparative approach. It treats contract law as a discipline that can be studied on the basis of common principles and methods without being tied to a particular jurisdiction or legal culture.”
In the end, negotiations are often pretty basic… 😉
The Germanic Society of Forensic Linguistics (GSFL) is holding its Fourth Roundtable in Forensic Linguistics & Phonetics in Mainz, Germany from 27-28 August 2016, preceded by a Student and Emerging Scholars’ Day on 26th August.
It aims to “provide forensic linguistics/forensic phonetics researchers, educators, and practitioners the opportunity to present and discuss their work within an interdisciplinary, supportive, and respectful scholarly environment”.
As many translators question the future in view of the rise of machine learning, and in the legal domain in particular due to concerns about quality, confidentiality, and reliability of translations, I noted with interest a presentation about legal analytics, and how big data and machine learning is being applied to the tasks that lawyers undertake.
The New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly presents a number of her cartoons in this short TED talk, as well as her latest project to support the United Nations initiative Cartooning for Peace, which seemed appropriate in view of recent events.
Two highly experienced interpreter-trainers, who work for a wide range of international organizations such as the WTO, WIPO, IMO and the EU, are offering short courses for professionals to work on their English B or upgrade their C language to B, and also refresher courses in note-taking and presentation skills.
From Words to Deeds: translation & the law 
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