Obvious though it may seem that equity and equality are not the same thing, they are often used interchangeably (or translated interchangeably) in many legal texts –including legislations aimed at implementing the principles set forth by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Malaysia’s Constitution establishes that the religion of a child under the age of 18 should be decided by “the parent or guardian.” Some lawyers in Malaysia argue that this should be interpreted to mean both parents, but Malaysian courts disagree, at least when it comes to converting children to Islam. When parents convert their children [...]

Exactly one month ago today I published what I thought was an interesting little post about the legal and social consequences of a language conflict in the Middle East. The post was about the body of water that separates Iran from Saudi Arabia and all its names: The Gulf of Basra, the Arabian Gulf, the [...]

The Spanish judge’s alleged “crime” was opening investigations into the disappearance of thousands of people in Spain following the civil war in the 1930s. In 2008, the judge authorized the search for mass graves in Spain and decided to prosecute the people responsible for them. While most of us would agree that justice cannot be [...]

I can think of no better example of the relationship between laws and languages than censorship. Censorship results from many different factors, but mainly, it results from fear. Fear that if certain words are uttered together in phrases they will shape the thoughts that will question and ultimately threaten certain interests. What better way to [...]

Just last month we looked at a UWS Research that revealed the Importance of Accurate Court Interpreting in criminal trials. The research had found that without proper specialist training, court interpreters tend to make technical/linguistic mistakes that can lead to inadequate legal outcomes.

NPR explored how between the 1970s and today the term “affirmative action” is being replaced in both the legal and business world by the more promising and inclusive term “diversity.”

Beyond Words just published a great post on the language needs of Hmong hunters in California and since I found it so interesting, I thought I’d share it here.

Last week the president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, accused Vice President Julio Cobos of plotting to destabilize the country and overthrow the government to satisfy his own ambition and win his place as president in 2010.

According to recently published research from the University of Western Sydney, Interpreting and Translation Research Group, the accuracy of court interpreters can make or break criminal cases presented to juries.

Although the Argentine Criminal Code does not provide a legal definition for abortion, the practice is still penalized. As is the case when legislators fail to provide definitions under Continental Law, this omission has led legal doctrine to provide definitions of its own when applying pertinent sections of the Criminal Code. Today, the most prominent [...]

For the past two semesters, I’ve constantly been referencing my Civil Law Manual by Guillermo Borda for several different classes. This book is essential for almost every law student in Argentina in particular and in Latin America in general. It is also a great book for anyone trying to understand the basics of Latin American [...]

As someone who studies Law in a country that has incorporated many of its guiding principles and theories from Germany, Spain, the United States, and France, I often find myself having to read translated texts. Some translations are better than others.