The Four Meanings of “Common Law” and Their Translation into Spanish
Keywords:
legal translation, comparative law, civil law, common law, legal terminologyAbstract
This article offers an answer to the question of what we mean when we talk about “common law”. “Common law” is a complex syntagm which refers to different concepts depending on the context where it is used. This article discusses the “Moréteau Formula”—a way of explaining the phenomenon by using acronyms for each sense. The formula is based on the explanations given by Louisiana State University Professor Olivier Moréteau in his Introduction to U.S. Law class. Based on identifying four clear and transparent uses of the term, the formula makes it possible to distinguish the meanings accurately. The article explains that this is not the only way of explaining the semantic complexity of “common law”, but credits the formula with providing an effective and comprehensive explanation.
Downloads
References
Andrada, G. e Irrazábal, C. (2023). Traducción jurídica y traductología: las oposiciones del vocablo common law. En Rodríguez, B. (Ed.), VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Traducción e Interpretación: actas (pp.1-39). Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Baker, S. J. (2019). An Introduction to English Legal History. Quinta edición. Oxford University Press.
Bennion, F. A. R. (2001). Understanding Common Law Legislation. Drafting and Interpretation. Oxford University Press.
Bossini, F. R., Gleeson, M. y Arana, S. (2005). Diccionario bilingüe de terminología jurídica. Inglés-español/español-inglés. Bilingual Dictionary of Legal Terms. English-Spanish/Spanish-English. Comares.
Cabanellas de las Cuevas, G. y Hoague E. C. (2010). English-Spanish Law Dictionary. Diccionario jurídico inglés-español. Heliasta.
Cueto Rúa, J. (1957). El “common law”. Su estructura normativa. Su enseñanza. Editorial La Ley.
Dale, W. (1977). Legislative Drafting: A New Approach. Butterworths.
David, R. y Brierley, J. E. C. (1988). Major Legal Systems in the World Today. The Legal Classics Library.
De Cruz, P. (1999). Comparative Law in a Changing World. Cavendish Publishing
Limited.
Garay, A. F. (2019). A Doctrine of Precedent in the Making: The Case of the Argentine Supreme Court’s Case Law. Southwestern Journal of International Law, 25(2), 258-320.
Garner, B. A. (Ed.) (2024). Black’s Law Dictionary. Decimosegunda edición. Thomson Reuters.
Garner, B. A. (2001). A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. Segunda edición. Oxford
University Press.
Glendon, M. A.; Lewis, A. D. E.; Kiralfy, A. R., et al. (28 de marzo de 2025). Common
law. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/common-law
(visitado por última vez el 7 de mayo de 2025).
Herzog, T. (2018). A Short History of European Law. The Last Two and a Half Millennia. Harvard University Press.
Holmes, O. W. (1923). The Common Law. Little, Brown and Company.
Husa, J. (2004). Classification of Legal Families Today. Is it Time for a Memorial Hymn? Revue internationale de droit comparé, 56(1), 11-38.
Karpen, U. (2012). Comparative Law: Perspectives of Legislation. Legisprudence, 6(2), 149-190.
Legarre, S. y Handy, C. R. (2021). A Civil Law State in a Common Law Nation, a Civil
Law Nation with a Common Law Touch: Judicial Review and Precedent in Louisiana and Argentina. Tulane Law Review, 95(3), 445-486.
Martin, J. E. (2009). Modern Equity. Decimonovena edición. Sweet & Maxwell.
Mellinkoff, D. (1963). The Language of the Law. Resource Publications.
Merryman, J. H. (2007). The Civil Law Tradition. An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Western Europe and Latin America. Tercera edición. Stanford University Press. Milsom, S. F. C. (1981). Historical Foundations of the Common Law. Segunda edición. Butterworths.
Moréteau, O. (2000). Droit anglais des affaires. Dalloz.
Moréteau, O. y Vanderlinden (Eds.) (2003). La structure des systèmes juridiques. XVIe Congrès de l’Académie internationale de droit comparé. Brisbane 2002.
Collection des Rapports. Bruylant.
Moréteau, O. (2009). The Future of the Civil Codes in France and Louisiana. Journal of Civil Law Studies, 2(1), 39-60.
Muñoz Machado, S. (Ed.) (2017). Diccionario panhispánico del español jurídico.
Volumen I A-F. Santillana Educación, S. L.
Pym, A. (2023). Exploring Translation Theories. Tercera edición. Routledge.
Ratti Mendaña, F. S. (2020). ¿A qué nos referimos cuando hablamos de “precedente”? Prudentia Iuris, 89, pp. 149-159.
Real Academia Española (2001). Diccionario de la lengua española. Tomo I. Vigésima segunda edición. Espasa.
Robb, Louis A. (1967). Diccionario de términos legales. Español-inglés e inglés-español. Editorial Limusa Wiley, S. A.
Romañach, Jr., J. (2006). Dictionary of Legal Terms. Spanish-English, English-Spanish. Lawyers Edition. Lawrence Publishing Company.
Soriano-Barabino, G. (2016). Comparative Law for Legal Translators. Peter Lang.
Spamann, H. (2024). Civil V. Common Law: The Emperor Has No Clothes. Harvard
Public Law Working Paper No. 24-11.
Vitetta, M. (2021). The Many Facets of Jurisprudence: When False Friends Aren’t So
False. Intercambios 25 (2), 13-15.
Worthington, S. (2010). Equity. Segunda edición. Oxford University Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mariano Vitetta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Make a Submission
Language
