ABSTRACT
It is often presumed that Latin expressions and maxims form a useful means to transmit legal messages in the communication between lawyers of various countries where divergent languages are in use. According to this view, the key terms included in legal texts may be given in Latin, so that it is not necessary to translate them from one modern language to another when legal messages are sent across linguistic borders. In effect, a proposal has even been made to restore Latin as the lingua franca of Europe, to be used as the main tool of communication in the European Union.2 In the first part of the present chapter, the author aims to show that Latin has some value for international communication, but this value, however, is quite limited. Therefore, translation of terms between the modern languages of law is needed today and will also be needed in the future, which means that the basic problems of legal translation cannot be avoided. These problems will be discussed in the second part of the chapter.
