Variability of English legal terms of criminal law

Introduction. English for Specific Purposes is not only a part of the higher professional education program but also a means of expanding the boundaries of professional and business communication, creating conditions for self-improvement, self-education, and self-development. Mastering a foreign language of a professionally oriented nature contributes to timely familiarization with new technologies, and discoveries in the field of law enforcement science and practice, ensures an increase in the professional competence of a specialist, and expands personally significant prospects. The criminal law specialization of future lawyers determines the need to consider the terminology of criminal law. Its specificity lies in the peculiarities of the functioning of legal systems. Studying the peculiarities of terms allows us to compare and contrast the legal systems that exist in English-speaking countries and Ukraine. Purpose. The article focuses on the typology of English legal terms and criminal law terms in particular. The main aim is to find out the connection between different types of terms in the terminological system, paying special attention to the main types of terms singled out in accordance with historical, structural, semantic, and functional characteristics of terminological units. The article studies the origin criminal law terms in the English language and cites some statistical data concerning various types of terms. Methods. Within the study of criminal law terms typology, the descriptive method, the comparative method, and the method of analysis and synthesis were used. Results. The result of the research is the identification of the connections of different types of terms in the analyzed terminological system with an emphasis on the typological division of terms according to the historical, structural, semantic, and functional characteristics of terminological units. A comparative table clearly presents the study’s results. Conclusion. Despite its conservatism, the criminal law terminology system is developing under the influence of extralinguistic processes. The dissemination and transmission of professional information, ensuring business contacts at the international level, which are carried out in the language for special purposes. The training of highly qualified specialists includes not only knowledge of their narrow specialization but also mastery of professional terminology. Mastering the main characteristics of English compound terms of criminal law allows us to consider them as stable formations that are subject to the requirements of scientific communication.