Comparative Law in the Eyes of Translation Scholars. Is Legal Translation Really an Exercise of Comparative Law?

The confrontation of the laws and languages of different legal systems that occurs in the process of legal translation has naturally inspired interest in comparative law among translation scholars. However, while references to comparative law in legal translation literature are abundant, they tend to be somewhat superfluous and selective, focusing mainly on the traditional functional method and saying little about how exactly legal translators can use comparative law in their practice. Nor is there much in-depth theoretical discussion of how both fields relate. Hence, the present paper aims to discuss the various approaches to comparative law and its role in legal translation adopted by legal translation scholars and to juxtapose them with a comparative account of the goals and processes of legal translation and comparative law. Taking a closer look at the oft-repeated statement that legal translation is an exercise in/of comparative law, the author demonstrates that, despite its rhetorical value, it actually misrepresents both fields. The results of the present research lead to the conclusion that, while comparative law and legal translation are clearly related and potentially useful for each other, the mutual recognition of autonomy could improve understanding between comparatists and legal translation professionals and allow them to learn more from each other.