Sprachen Englisch, Bildungsprogramm 2022
OT-ES-E 331
Legal English Essentials: Talking about law and getting it right
Content and aims
Talking about Austrian law in English can be quite challenging, thanks to the common law-civil law divide (just think about the difference a case law system makes), the German-Austrian divide (what exactly do we mean by ”Maßnahme”?), and any number of potentially false friends (e.g. process, procedure and proceedings).
In this interdisciplinary course, you will learn how best to talk about different areas of law in English and how to use the relevant legal vocabulary correctly, with special emphasis on terminological differences between civil, criminal and administrative law.
So let’s talk about
• cases, courts and procedure,
• civil, criminal and administrative law,
• legal instruments and legal professions – and more.
Find out how to deal with classic vocabulary challenges, such as:
• Key legal concepts, e.g.: “Maßnahmenbeschwerde” and “Maßnahmenvollzug”,
“Außerstreit” and “Streitwert”. Guilt, liability, fault, debt or obligation – which is right for
“Schuld”, and in which legal context?
• Essential phrases, e.g.: to set aside vs. to uphold a decision. What’s the difference between “in accordance with the law” and “according to the law”?
• Tricky terms, e.g.: Does “Senat” translate as “senate”? (Not really.) Does “justice” work for “Justiz”? (Sometimes.) Can the losing party in a civil case be sentenced or convicted?
(Definitely not.) Can killing someone be an offence as well as a tort? (It certainly can.)
... and get ready to use this terminology in practical contexts, e.g. explaining to “outsiders”
how we do things in Austria. In addition, the tried-and-tested combination of terminology &
communication will give your spoken English a massive boost.
Working method
• Interactive webinar (with pair/group work)
• Integrated approach to vocabulary building and communication skills
Technical requirements:
• PC / laptop / tablet / smartphone (possibly private) with camera and microphone as well as internet access, headphones are recommended
Sprachen Englisch, Bildungsprogramm 2022
• Webinar software platform Zoom or similar
Target group
People who need to communicate about aspects of Austrian law in international contexts and want to build up and practise their legal vocabulary.
This webinar is open to people with CEFR levels B1, B2 and higher.
Trainer Andrea Steiner
Time & venue
Length: 3x 180-minute sessions Seminar number: OT-ES-E 331 New
Date: 8–10 November 2022, 9:00–12:00 each day
Venue: Online
Organisation
In the hands of: Ursula Eder
Secretariat: Petra Ranzenbacher
Tips
You may also be interested in OT-ES-E 319 „Legal English Compact: Constitutional law and administrative law“ and OT-ES-E 248 „Yes Minister: English for Public Administration“.
About
Mag.a Andrea Steiner, B.A., Akad. gepr. Übersetzerin
Expertin für englische Fachsprache und Kommunikation, Trainerin und Coach.
Arbeitsschwerpunkte: English for Law, Politics, Government & Public Administration. Studium der Anglistik/Amerikanistik, Germanistik und Linguistik; derzeit Studium der
Rechtswissenschaften. Vormals Lehrtätigkeit an der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien und an Fachhochschulen
andrea@norrisandsteiner.at
