Symposium on Law and Language
Scholars from across the globe will assemble in Maastricht University to share insights, debate, and discuss their views on a range of mainstream topics dealing with the development and dynamics of law and language. The topic will be addressed from four thematic-themes in the Symposium: (i) Law, Language, and Context (ii) New Challenges in Jurilinguistics, (iii) Law and Language in Legal Education, and (iv) Legal Translation as a Means to Bridge Divides. Speakers will be from across the globe, offering multiple perspectives to improve higher education, the legal profession, and policymaking. The Symposium in Maastricht aims to offer a fruitful forum for experts from different disciplines and from different corners of the world.
A panel to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association will be hosted during the second day of the Symposium.
Organization
The Symposium is organized by the International Association of Legal Science (IALS) and the Netherlands Comparative Law Association (NvvR) at the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University. Funds for the realization of the event were provided by IALS, NvvR, the Science Committee of the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University, and the University Fund Limburg (SWOL).
Established in 1950, IALS aims to promote the development of legal science throughout the world, by using in particular the comparative method, and operates under the auspices of UNESCO and of the International Social Science Council.
Registration
Registration is open. Register through the green button on the right side.
We ask a small fee (€30,00) for regular participants.
Questions about the programme should be addressed to Agustín Parise (agustin.parise@maastrichtuniversity.nl).
Questions about the logistics should be addressed to Sanne de Bok (sanne.debok@maastrichtuniversity.nl).
Venue
Maastricht University
Faculty of Law
Statenzaal
Bouillonstraat 1-3
6211 LH Maastricht
Programme
Please download the printable programme here.
Thursday, 26 September
09:00 | Registration of participants |
09:20 |
Welcome on behalf of the International Association of Legal Science |
First Session: Law, Language, and Context | |
Chair: Reinhard Zimmermann (MPI for Comparative and International Private Law) | |
09:30 | Elena Ioriatti (Professor, University of Trento) 'A Twenty-First Century Approach to Law and Language in Europe' |
10:00 | Discussion |
10:20 | Vernon V. Palmer (Professor, Tulane University) 'Law, Language, and Translation in the Mixed Jurisdictions' |
10:50 | Discussion |
11:10 | Coffee break |
Second Session: New Challenges in Jurilinguistics | |
Chair: Jorge A. Sánchez Cordero (Mexican Center of Uniform Law) | |
11:30 | Lucja Biel (European Society for Translation Studies; University of Warsaw) 'Researching Legal Language and Translation: Recent Developments' |
12:00 | Discussion |
12:20 | Jean-Claude Gémar (Universities of Montreal and Geneva) 'At the Roots of Canadian Jurilinguistics: From the Letter to the Spirit of the Law. Twilight of the Term, Primacy of the Text /Aux sources de la jurilinguistique canadienne : de la lettre à l’esprit du droit. Crépuscule du terme, primat du texte' |
12:50 | Discussion |
13:10 | Lunch |
Third Session: Law and Language in Legal Education | |
Chair: Başak Baysal (Istanbul University) | |
14:30 | Silvia Ferreri (University of Turin) 'Challenging Students with different Styles of Judgments: Common and Civil Law Approaches' |
15:00 | Discussion |
15:20 | Nicolás Etcheverry Estrázulas (University of Montevideo) 'Bilingual Legal Education in Latin America: A View of Recent Years in Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay' |
15:50 | Discussion |
16:30 | Sight Seeing Tour 1 |
Friday, 27 September
09:00 | Registration of participants |
09:20 | Welcome on behalf of Maastricht University Jan Smits (Dean, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University) |
Fourth Session: Legal Translation as a Means to Bridge Divides | |
Chair: Monika Pauknerová (Charles University) | |
09:30 | Olivier Moréteau (Louisiana State University) 'Two Centuries of Legal Translation in Louisiana: Development and Promotion of the Civil Law in English' |
10:00 | Discussion |
10:20 | Carmen Bestué (Autonomous University of Barcelona) 'Building the Bridge from both Sides: Successful Communication Strategies in Legal Translation and Court Interpreting' |
10:50 | Discussion |
11:10 | Coffee break and Group Picture |
11:30 | Closing Remarks Agustín Parise (Director of Scientific Studies, IALS) |
12:00 | Lunch (and meeting IALS Executive Committee) |
13:45 | Sightseeing Tour 2 |
17:00 | Welcome on behalf of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association Lars van Vliet (Secretary and Treasurer, Netherlands Comparative Law Association) |
17:10 | Panel on the 50th Anniversary of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association Former Presidents of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association |
Chair: Antonio Gambaro (President, IALS) | |
17:40 | Coffee break |
18:00 |
Key Note Address |
19:00 | Dinner for invited guests |

Also read
-
30 Nov13:00 - 17:00
Actualiteiten EU-procesrecht
Deze cursus, die van het Digi-Guard project deel uitmaakt, zal u op de hoogte brengen van de meest recente ontwikkelingen op het gebied van het EU-procesrecht.
-
01 Dec 31 Oct12:00
Narratives, Frontier Technologies & the Law
We seek high-quality scholarly perspectives and theoretical investigations into the relationship or correlation between Narratives, Frontier Technologies, and the Law. Our objective is to provide valuable insights for international legal scholars to analyse and conceptualise the evolution of...
-
12 Dec 22 Dec