1. Legal French 7

2. History of Legal French: Beginnings
842 Oath of Strasbourg: Latin and Old French
12th and 13th c: Use of vernaculars in the chancelleries of State began spreading throughout Europe
Philip the Fair ( ) introduced French to the royal chancellery; the king’s example spread to the chancelleries of dukes and counts, city administrations and private documents
The king stresses the importance of dropping Latin from the administration of law and government

3. History of Legal French: Beginnings
In 13th c. French widely used in northern France
Mid-13th c. French was established language for legal documents, at least in the north
13th c.: over 2,000 documents drawn up in French
Judicial matters pleaded in French in the Middle Ages in northern France

4. History of Legal French: Beginnings
Parlement of Paris, the royal court going back to the King’s Council, became a specialised court organ in mid-13th c.
Sittings of the Parlement – held in French from its foundations, its judgments delivered in the same language, but recorded in Latin in order to be enforced throughout the country; witness statements – recorded in Latin
advocates – formally forbidden from pleading in Latin; even those representing the University of Paris had to use French

5. History of Legal French: Beginnings
Expansion of French began after the Hundred Years War ( ), which had increased the power of the king of France
Linguistic unification – highly useful from the standpoint of the exercise of power

6. History of Legal French: Beginnings
Legal and administrative language of Paris began to challenge Latin earlier than any other language
Therefore, the government and the courts played a role of prime importance in the development of French; a large part of their vocabulary transmitted to ordinary language
French orthography also goes back to the practices of administrative and judicial organs

7. Modern times Status of Latin weakened as a result of the Reformation
The Humanists set up the style of the Roman classics as the model – crippled the use of Latin for everyday purposes
16th and 17th c. French ousted Latin in government and courts

8. Language legislation
Decree of Villers-Cotterêt (1539): judgements and procedural acts were to be pronounced, recorded and delivered to the parties in “the French mother tongue and not in any other form”.
1629 French became the language of Church courts
Language of culture, literature, science

9. Universities At universities, the change was slower
In mid-17th c. French law faculties – still used Latin, traditional language of Roman law, ius commune and canon law
In 1679 Louis XIV had French law included in law faculty programmes; somewhat later, ordered that this law should be taught in French
Teaching of French law in French - only truly launched in 18th c.
Legal theses still written in Latin in 19th c.

10. Discarding Regional Languages
Decree of Lyon (1510) still refers to langue de pays
Decree of Viller-Cotterêt (1539) speaks explicitly of French - end of the use of the Romance languages of the Midi
Judgements and other legal documents had to be drawn up in French, old languages of provinces excluded; protests in non-French speaking regions
At the time of the Revolution, 25 million inhabitants: 6 million did not understand French, 6 million understood it at the basic level, 10 million had a passable knowledge of French

11. Discarding Regional Languages
Revolutionary decrees obliged civil servants to use French and draw up all public documents in it
French – the language of the army
Compulsory military service, the press, postal services and railways increased the movement of the population and consolidated the central administration

12. Quality Assurance of Legal Language
Legal French gradually became petrified and increasingly difficult to understand
1635 establishment of the Académie Française – care for quality assurance
Académie found the style of law courts out of fashion, over-technical and even incomprehensible; this led lawyers to stick to their traditional language even more strongly

13. Style of judgments
Until the Revolution, French judgments lacked grounds; reasons:
1) Parlement of Paris – a high court, and strenghtening its position brought about power struggles with the king; these struggles would have been aggravated by explicit presentation of grounds for judgment, which the king might have felt provocative; 2) Requiring grounds would have been insulting to the authority of senior judges; as a result, publicastion of decisions was considered useless, even banned

14. Style of judgments
During the Revolution, judges began motivating their decisions again, but grounds were laconic, even formal
Court reasoning consisted essentially of articles of law
In the new ideology, in a judge’s work the question did not even arise of independently creating law – it involved only the mechanical application of statutes
Formal grounds – refer only to statute articles, concealing the creative aspect of their activities, the formation of law by cases

15. Style of judgments
Statute articles occupy a central place in the grounds of judgments: grounds of other kinds less common
The fact that the Civil Procedure Code requires judgments to be reasoned is not reflected in the content of the grounds

16. Globalisation of Legal French: Diplomacy
Up to the 17th c. Latin was the main language of inter-state relations
Bilateral and multilateral treaties – drawn up in Latin
Following the rise of France to a dominant position, the use of French spread in the international arena as a language of diplomacy and international law

17. Globalisation of Legal French: Diplomacy
The Holy Roman Empire insisted on the use of Latin, while French ambassadors presented documents in French
The Convention of Vienna (1736) and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) – drawn up in French
From 1676, all ambassadors of France spoke French in their countries of accreditation

18. Globalisation of Legal French: Diplomacy
French spread to international treaties to which France was not a party
18th c. international treaties in Latin – increasingly rare
Dominance of French – so strong that it was used in cases where action was directed against France or even in cases involving her defeat: at the Congress of Vienna (1815) French remained the language of negotiations and Treaty language
1871, during peace negotiations following Franco-Prussian war, Otto von Bismarck used French

19. Globalisation of Legal French: Diplomacy
End of 18th c: the US decided to use only English in their diplomatic relations;
20th c. English began to threaten the position of French in international relations, and acquired dominance in this field

20. Colonisation: Canada
16th c. France became a colonial power: colonies in North America
French Canada ( )
British Canada ( )
“Canadian Canada” (1867)

21. Colonisation: Canada
History of legal language – closely linked to legal translation
Before the British conquest - Canadian French – high quality
After the British conquest - poor translators corrupted the language

22. Colonisation: Canada
End of 18th c. public law and the judicial system in Quebec were anglicised; this required rapid translation into French of a large number of laws and other legal English texts, to be applied to the French-speaking population
Laws were prepared exclusively in English until 1867
Translators – no specialised training
Fastidiousness and repetitiveness of legal English – repeated in legal French of Quebec (e.g. il sera levé, perçu et payé à sa Majesté ‘it shall be raised, levied and paid to His Majesty’ – repetition of synonyms)

23. Colonisation: Canada
Between the early 1790’s and the mid-19th c. legal French in Canada moved very far from that in France
French-Canadian legal language became increasinglyEnglish
Legal English – expressed a completely different legal culture
French-Canadian legal texts – full of anglicisms (acte ‘loi’ (act), délai ‘retard’ (delay); évidence ‘preuve’ (evidence), offence ‘infraction’ (offence)

24. Colonisation: Canada
Act of Union (1840) prescribed that English was the only official language in Canada
Strong resistance of French speakers
Recognition of French by public authorities
The Constitution of 1867 recognised the language rights of French speakers
1960’s Peaceful Revolution – the status of Quebec consolidated

25. Colonisation: Canada
Importance of legal translation decreased thanks to autonomous preparation of laws in French
Today: French is the only official language in Quebec
Quebec National Assembly adopts all its laws in French

26. Colonisation: Canada
Both English and French – official languages of Canada, but only at the level of the federal government and its institutions
Legal texts of the Canadian parliament – always translated into both languages
Drafts of Canadian federal laws – worked out simultaneously in English and French: co-drafting
The quality of the original draft – more easily revealed by comparing the two language versions than by examining a single version

27. Colonisation: Canada
Terminological work and the principle of co-drafting have freed Canadian French from the patronage of English
Canadian legislative work brings fresh elements into the French language becasue the specific conditions imposed by legal texts oblige the Canadians to be creators, surrendering the mental comfort created by preserving what is old and certain

28. Colonisation: Africa
19th c. French colonies in North Africa and Black Africa
The Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) – multilingual regions
French – the sole official language of the region in 19th c.

29. Maghreb In today’s Maghreb, only Arabic is the official language;
more people today with a command of French than at the end of the colonial era (French- language of higher education and upward social mobility)

30. Sub-Saharan Africa
French – sole official language in Benin, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), the Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Chad, Togo
Traditional justice, based on customary law and administered by village elders – African languages
In Rwanda and Burundi- government and local courts use regional languages, while the central authorities and higher courts use French

31. Sub-Saharan Africa
Djibuti: justice is administered in four languages; higher courts only operate in French, while the Islamic courts (sharia courts) always use Arabic
In courts applying traditional customary law, procedural languages: Arabic, Somali or Afar.
In all cases, judgments are drawn up in French so that they can be enforced

32. Radiation of French Legal Culture
University of Paris founded in 13th c.
Professors contributed greatly to the development of Canon law and ius commune
Added impetus to the theory of international private law, esp. in 16th c.
Many French legal works translated into Italian in 19th c.

33. Radiation of French Legal Culture
From the early 19th c. several foreign countries have received French codes, particularly the Civil Code (1804)
The Civil Code - a model for corresponding codes in various countries (Rhineland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland, Rumania; Quebec, Louisiana, Latin American countries; Egypt, Ethiopia, Maghreb)

34. Radiation of French Legal Culture
French administrative justice contributed to the birth of German administrative legal science in the late 19th c.

35. Defending the Position of French
The Age of Enlightenment – French was so widespread that the expression “French Europe” was used
Political dominance of France collapsed with the defeat of Napoleon
French language – retreat in Europe
Importance of English and German on the rise

36. The Link between Related Languages
French law – model abroad
French legal influence – esp. strong in Italy
Italian law and legal science developed in the direction indicated by French models
New Italian legal terms often came from France
In Italian regions annexed to the French Empire (Piedmont, Parma, Piacenza, Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Corsica) – decrees and administrative circulars published in both French and Italian

37. The Link between Related Languages
Rumanian Civil Code – almost a direct copy of the French Civil Code
Not repealed even during the Communist period
Rumanian civil law terminology – based on French
The legal order systematised in the same way in all Romance countries; similarities in legal terms – not misleading

38. Legal English
Royal courts of medieval England used law French, developed on the basis of Norman French
French – used as judicial language in 13th and 14th c.
Legal English and legal French often use the same terms, but the legal systematics and conceptual systems – different
Terms that appear identical do not necessarily express the same concepts

39. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Belgium
Homogeneity of the legal languages of France and Belgium – French-speaking part of Belgium has tended until recently to look for inspiration almost exclusively to the legal culture of France, and not to the legal culture of Dutch-speaking Belgium, not to mention that of the Netherlands

40. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Switzerland
Legal French of Switzerland – partly original with respect to Legal French of France – legal traditions essentially Germanic
German – the language of preparation of laws
Zivilgesetzbuch (Civil Code) – translated into French
Fusion of Germanic and Romance legal cultures
French-speaking legal circles imitate the language of the dominant Germanic legal culture
Belief that concordance of content of the German and French variants of laws can only be guaranteed by literal translation of terms

41. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Switzerland
Sometimes, the meaning of legal terms differs between Switzerland and France
Decisions of the Swiss Federal Court correspond in their basic structure to the French tradition; as to syntax, arranging the text in numbered paragraphs in accordance with the progress of argumentation they follow the Germanic tradition; decisions delivered in both French and German

42. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Canada
Quebec: common law of English origin intermingles with law of French origin: mixed law
Public law comes from common law, private law is mainly continental
A French-style notarial profession – an important element of the Quebec legal system
Hierarchy of sources of law - continental

43. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Canada
Quebec legal French: the need to express traditional common law concepts in French and vice versa
In some cases – terms from French law obtained a meaning different from that in France: danger of mistakes and misunderstandings in communications with France

44. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Canada
At the time when English common law was created, legal circles were using French
Institutions peculiar to common law – expressed in French
By highlighting the original form of common law terms, it is possible to fashion terms that are authentically French, with a character at once old and new

45. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Canada
Terminological work enabled compilation of legal dictionaries containing, in French, the terminology of various branches of common law (e.g. law of property, trusts, torts)
“The mixed character of Quebec legal French is also in evidence in the fact that Latin maxims appearing in this form of French come both from the traditional Latin of common lawyers and from the Latin used as established in France.”

46. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa – customary laws
The French colonial power codified some of these
Customary laws – inadequate for modern society; completed by French law
France abolished customary rules if they were in contradiction with the fundamental European values, esp. in criminal law
French Criminal Code – applicable throughout French-ruled Africa

47. International Homogeneity of Legal French: Africa
French used in Black Africa . The same as that in France
North Africa – Islamic tradition; Arabic quotations in legal French of Maghreb, notably in traditional branches of law expressing concepts from the sharia
Local traditions and conditions also reflected in African legal French

48. Origin of vocabulary
Latin terms transmitted from Antiquity by continuous tradition (loi<lex, juge <judex, justice < iustitia, délit < delictum, société<societas)
Medieval Latin: contumace < contumax ‘contempt’, ‘non-appearance in court’
Greek: démocratie, politique
Neologisms which were never used in Latin or Greek: autogestion, monoparental; today, legal neologisms of Graeco-Latin origin often come from English

49. Origin of vocabulary Italian loanwords: banqueroute, change
English loanwords: franchising, dumping, leasing

50. Legal French Style: Text construction
Cartesian spirit: texts constructed in a logical and methodological way
Legal rules – systematically assembled in codes

51. Legal French Style: Textual Level
Legal texts – difficult to understand: long, complicated sentences, impersonal expressions, passive and negative forms (il n’est pas exclu que ‘ it is not impossible that’); limited use of adjectives, abundance of nouns; stereotyped phrases (e.g. dont acte ‘in witness/faith/verification’), archaisms, petrified expressions (ci-après ‘hereafter’, ledit, susdit ‘aforesaid’
Administrative language - compliments presented to addressees in administrative letters

52. Legal French Style: Textual Level
Repetitions less frequent than in legal English, but: e.g. nous avons arrêté et arrêtons ‘we have decided and do decide’
Petrified phrases: executory formulas for judicial decisions systematising the grounds of judgments: attendu que and considérant que
Form requirements in verbs: grounds should always be written in the indicative; using the conditional can lead to the judgment being quashed

53. Improving the quality of legal language
Association pour le bon usage du français dans l’administration, Commission de modernisation du langage judiciaire, Centre d’enregistrement et de révision des formulaires administratifs
Terms felt to be discriminatory – replaced
Courts should eliminate useless repetitions
Latin maxims should be reduced
Clarity of legal language
Today: struggle against Anglicisms

54. International Position Today
In a large part of the world French is still the official language (Canada, Northern, Western, Central Africa)
In Europe: Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg
Establishment of the European Communities – new importance of French: one of three procedural languages
Global organisations

55. Francophonia
International community promoting the interests of French culture
Some countries where French is the official language – not members of Francophonia (Algeria, Switzerland)

56. International organisations
49% international organisations accord French the status of official language
International organisations for legislative harmonisation: e.g. the Hague Conference on Private International Law, charged with drafting conventjons in private international law and international procedural law; until 1960, draft conventions only drawn up in French; today, French and English are used

57. International organisations
Unidroit (Institute international pour l’unification du drolit privé) – originally attached to the League of Nations, today and international organisation aiming to unify national legislation on private law; previously operated only in French; currently, several languages possess the official status; English and French used as working languages; Revue de droit uniforme/Uniform Law Review - bilingual

58. EU French – important in preparation of EU legal rules
Working language of ECJ: decisions drawn up in French, although only the version in the procedural language is authentic
French language division has to translate into French all documents lodged by parties in a language other than French
Periodicals on European law
Legal culture and techniques - received from the outset from France: it is always simple to describe a legal system by using the language by which the system was originally created