Keywords
Legal System
Legal Translation
How to Cite
Abstract
This study aims to highlight that practicing legal translation from Arabic and French into English in the Algerian context faces considerable challenges compared with Arabic-French translation. This is due to the differences in legal and linguistic systems of the source and target texts. Since Algerian legal institutions have recently begun translating legal content into English, this paper suggests strategies for adequacy and accuracy. The present research examines some selected legal texts in Arabic, French, and English from Algerian and French-translated legal documents, using a comparative approach based on Vinay and Darbelnet’s model. The findings reveal that Arabic-French legal translation, which primarily allows for a literal technique, is more straightforward than translation from Arabic and French into English, which necessitates an oblique strategy, especially the adaptation technique. Translators of English within the context of the law need expertise in legal knowledge, linguistic skills, and intercultural awareness. Further research is suggested regarding the recent movement toward legal systems convergence under globalization, which may, by reducing pitfalls, facilitate the process of translating into English.
References
Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings. London & New York: Routledge.
Bouali, S., Chergui, N., & Ämara, M. (2014). Administrative Law: Administrative and Activity. Algeria: Belkis Press.
Crystal, D., & Davy, D. (1969). Investigating English Style (English Language). London & New York: Routledge.
di Carlo, G. S. (2015). Diachronic and Synchronic Aspects of Legal English: Past, Present, and Possible Future of Legal English (1st Edition). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
El-Farahaty, H. (2015). Arabic-English-Arabic Legal Translation. London & New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315745893
Fridja, H. (2011). The Explanation of Administrative Litigations, a Comparative Study. Algeria: Elkhaldounia Press.
Haigh, R. (2018). Legal English (5th edition). London & New York: Routledge-Cavendish. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315149127
Hovelsø, J. P. (2004). Characteristics of English Legal Language. http://certificateinparalegalstudies.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/origin-of-legal-english.doc (retrieved on 16 July, 2020).
Jeanpierre, E. (2011). “The pitfalls of legal translations between legal systems from two different legal families: a focus on translation of French legal material into English”. Lapland Law Review, 1(1), 144-164.
Veretina-chiriac, I. (2012). “Characteristics and Features of Legal English Vocabulary”. Lingvistică Şi Literatură, 4(54), 103-107.
Wagner, A. (2002). La Langue de la Common Law. Paris : Editions L’Harmattan.
Zidan, A. A. (2015). A Linguistic Analysis of some Problems of Arabic-English Translation of Legal Texts, with Special Reference to Contracts. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Act n° 25-14 of 03 August 2025. (2025). Penal Code. Official Journal 54-2025. (2025). Algeria https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-arabe/2025/A2025054.pdf?znjo=54 (retrieved on 27 August, 2026).
Act n° 16-01 of 06 March 2016. (2016). Constitution of Algeria (2016). Official Journal n° 14-2016. Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/2016/A2016014.pdf?znjo=14 (retrieved on 15 August, 2026).
Act n° 16-01 of 06 March 2016. (2016). Constitution of Algeria (2016). Official Journal n° 14-2016. (2016). Algeria. French Translation. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JOFRANCAIS/2016/F2016014.pdf?znjo=14 (retrieved on 15 August, 2026).
Act n° 08-09 of 25 February 2008. (2008). Code of Civil and Administrative Procedures. Official Journal 21-2008. (2008). Algeria https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/2008/A2008021.pdf?znjo=21 (retrieved on 27 August, 2026).
Act n° 08-09 of 25 February 2008. (2008). Code of Civil and Administrative Procedures. Official Journal 21-2008. (2008). French Translation. Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-FRANCAIS/2008/F2008021.pdf?znjo=21 (retrieved on 27 August, 2026).
Act n° 84-11 of 09 June 1984. (1984). Family Law. Official Journal n° 24-84 of 12 June 1984. (1984). Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/1984/A1984024.pdf?znjo=24 (retrieved on 26 August, 2026).
Act n° 84-11 of 09 June 1984. (1984). Family Law. Official Journal n° 24-84 of 12 June 1984. (1984). French Translation. Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/1984/A1984024.pdf?znjo=24 (retrieved on 26 August, 2026).
Constitution of Algeria (2016). English Translation. https://www.aps.dz (retrieved on 15 June, 2023).
Constitution of France. (1958). Integral Text, France. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000571356/2024-03-10 (retrieved on 22 August, 2026).
Decree of 23 December 2024. (2024). Official Journal n° 0304-2024 of 24 December 2024, (2024). France. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/download/pdf?id=e1zu17CprDOqj9lE78rLB59zMW9r0VCLrkV8AmAAT3o= (retrieved 19 August, 2026)
Legislative Part. Code of Administrative Justice. (2000). France.
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006070933// (retrieved on 22 February, 2024).
Legislative Part. Code of Administrative Justice. (2000). France. English Translation. https://www.conseil-etat.fr/Media/actualites/documents/2021/11-novembre/eng_cja-partie-legislative_maj_20141017 (retrieved on 22 February, 2024).
Ordinance n° 75-58 of 26 September 1975. (1975). Civil Law. Official Journal 78-75. (1975). Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/1975/A1975078.pdf?znjo=078 (retrieved on 27 August, 2026).
Organic Law n° 98-01 of 30 May 1998. (1998). Official Journal n° 37-1998. (1998). Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-ARABE/1998/A1998037.pdf?znjo=37 (retrieved on 18 June, 2025).
Organic Law n° 98-01 of 30 May 1998. (1998). Official Journal n° 37-1998. (1998). French Translation. Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-FRANCAIS/1998/F1998037.pdf?znjo=37 (retrieved on 18 June, 2025).
Presidential Decree n° 24-374 of 18 November 2024. (2024). Nomination of Government Members. Official Journal n° 77-2024. (2024). Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-arabe/2024/A2024077.pdf?znjo=77 (retrieved on 20 August, 2026).
Presidential Decree n° 24-374 of 18 November 2024. (2024). Nomination of Government Members. Official Journal n° 77-2024. (2024). French Translation. Algeria. https://www.joradp.dz/FTP/JO-francais/2024/F2024077.pdf?znjo=77 (retrieved on 20 August, 2026). https://na.gov.pk/en/index.php. (retrieved on 26 September, 2025). https://www.senate.gov/. (retrieved on 26 September, 2025).
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohamed Charif MANSOURI
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
When submitting a paper the author agrees to the following publishing agreement and processing personal data.
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT, COPYRIGHT LICENSE, PERSONAL DATA PROCESSING CONSENT
This is a publication agreement and copyright license (“Agreement”) regarding a written manuscript currently submitted via Pressto platform
(“Article”) to be published in Comparative Legilinguistics International Journal for Legal Communication (“Journal”).
The parties to this Agreement are:
the Author or Authors of the submitted article (individually, or if more than one author, collectively, “Author”) and Comparative Legilinguistics International Journal for Legal Communication (“Publisher”), address al. Niepodległości 4, 61-874 Poznań, represented by its editor in chief Aleksandra Matulewska.
§1. LICENSE OF COPYRIGHT
a) The Author and the Publisher agree that the Author grants a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which is incorporated herein by reference and is further specified at Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 copyright license in the Article to the general public.
b) The Author grants to the Publisher a royalty-free, worldwide nonexclusive license to publish, reproduce, display, distribute, translate and use the Article in any form, either separately or as part of a collective work, including but not limited to a nonexclusive license to publish the Article in an issue of the Journal, copy and distribute individual reprints of the Article, authorize reproduction of the entire Article in another publication, and authorize reproduction and distribution of the Article or an abstract thereof by means of computerized retrieval systems (such as Westlaw, Lexis and SSRN). The Author retains ownership of all rights under copyright in the Article, and all rights not expressly granted in this Agreement.
c) The Author grants to the Publisher the power to assign, sublicense or otherwise transfer any and all licenses expressly granted to the Publisher under this Agreement.
d) Republication. The Author agrees to require that the Publisher be given credit as the original publisher in any republication of the Article authorized by the Author. If the Publisher authorizes any other party to republish the Article under the terms of paragraphs 1c and 1 of this Agreement, the Publisher shall require such party to ensure that the Author is credited as the Author.
§2. EDITING OF THE ARTICLE
a) The Author agrees that the Publisher may edit the Article as suitable for publication in the Journal. To the extent that the Publisher’s edits amount to copyrightable works of authorship, the Publisher hereby assigns all right, title, and interest in such edits to the Author.
§3. WARRANTIES
a) The Author represents and warrants that to the best of the Author’s knowledge the Article does not defame any person, does not invade the privacy of any person, and does not in any other manner infringe upon the rights of any person. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Publisher against all such claims.
b) The Author represents and warrants that the Author has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to grant the licenses granted in this Agreement.
c) The Author represents and warrants that the Article furnished to the Publisher has not been published previously. For purposes of this paragraph, making a copy of the Article accessible over the Internet, including, but not limited to, posting the Article to a database accessible over the Internet, does not constitute prior publication so long as the as such copy indicates that the Article is not in final form, such as by designating such copy to be a “draft,” a “working paper,” or “work-in-progress”. The Author agrees to hold harmless the Publisher, its licensees and distributees, from any claim, action, or proceeding alleging facts that constitute a breach of any warranty enumerated in this paragraph.
§4. TERM
a) The agreement was concluded for an unspecified time.
§5. PAYMENT
a) The Author agrees and acknowledges that the Author will receive no payment from the Publisher for use of the Article or the licenses granted in this Agreement.
b) The Publisher agrees and acknowledges that the Publisher will not receive any payment from the Author for publication by the Publisher.
§6. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
a) This Agreement supersedes any and all other agreements, either oral or in writing, between the Author and the Publisher with respect to the subject of this Agreement. This Agreement contains all of the warranties and agreements between the parties with respect to the Article, and each party acknowledges that no representations, inducements, promises, or agreements have been made by or on behalf of any party except those warranties and agreements embodied in this Agreement.
b) In all cases not regulated by this Agreement, legal provisions of Polish Copyright Act and Polish Civil Code shall apply.
c) Any disputes arising from the enforcement of obligations connected with this Agreement shall be resolved by a court competent for the headquarters of the Publisher.
d) Any amendments or additions to the Agreement must be made in writing and signed by authorised representative of both parties, otherwise being ineffective.
e) This Agreement is signed electronically and the submission of the article via the PRESSto platform is considered as the conclusion of the Agreement by the Author and the Publisher.
f) Clause for consent to the processing of personal data - general
g) The Author shall give his or her consent to the processing of their personal data in accordance with the Act of 10 May 2018 on the protection of personal data and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of persons physical in connection with the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46 / EC (General Data Protection Regulation) for the purpose and in connection with making publications available on the PRESSto scientific journals platform and DeGruyter platform, guaranteeing the security of services rendered, and improving them.
I HAVE READ AND AGREE FULLY WITH THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
The Author The Publisher