OT-ES-E 342

The Language of Law: Shall I stay or shall I go?

Zielgruppe

People with a working knowledge of English (CEFR levels B1/B2 and higher) who want to express themselves accurately and appropriately when speaking or writing about law.
NB: This new seminar deals in more detail with some of the contents of “The Grammar of Law“ (autumn 2023).

Inhalt und Ziele

Legal English has a special ring to it, doesn’t it? One reason is its fondness of antiquated expressions, many of which are best reserved for drafting legislation or contracts. In this session we will systematically explore which uses are specifically legal, which are merely formal, which are OK for everyday use – and what they mean in each context.

You want to get it right in language and law? Come and dive deeper into expressions like …

• SHALL, etc
  • “The Court of Auditors shall carry out the Union’s audit.” (Art. 285 TFEU)
    Should WE use “shall” when talking or writing about the role of the Court of Auditors? What can we use instead – and will the legal meaning still be the same?
  • How can we best express fundamental legal concepts like obligation, permission and prohibition?
• Other “old-fashioned“ vocabulary and usage, e.g.:
  • HEREBY, THEREOF, HEREINAFTER, etc
    What exactly do these expressions mean, and how do they work?
  • WHEREAS, WHEREBY, etc
    • We know “whereas” from preambles to EU legal acts. Does it have the same meaning in non-legal texts?
    • Can we translate “wobei” as “whereby”?

… analyse their use in laws, treaties and judgments, and try them out in practice.

Lernmethode

• Interactive webinar with group work and lots of speaking practice
• Working with legal texts

Technical requirements:

• PC / laptop / tablet / smartphone (possibly private) with camera and microphone (or headphones), as well as stable internet access

• Webinar software platform Zoom

Trainer

Steiner Andrea, Mag.

Zeit und Ort

Seminarnummer:

OT-ES-E 342

Trainingsform:

Online-Tr. / Webinar

Dauer:

1 Tag(e) (3 Stunden)

Termin:

02.12.2025

Stundenplan:

09:00 - 12:00

Ort:

Online

Anmerkungen

You may also be interested in the other parts of “The Language of Law” series (OT-ES-E 340 and OT-ES-E 341).

Organisation

In Verantwortung von:

Eder Ursula, Dr.

Sekretariat:

Ranzenbacher Petra