Heidelberg Group of Legal Linguistics

The Heidelberg Group of Legal Linguistics is an interdisciplinary research group investigating language, media and law. It was founded in 1983 and has had a decisive influence on legal linguistic research in Germany and beyond.

International Association of Language and Law

„The ILLA welcomes members from all nations, languages, and legal traditions. The Association is open to academics, lawyers, judges, and interested members of the public. Its purpose is to promote and publicize the relationship between language and the law.“ (Self-description)

International Association of Forensic Linguists

„The International Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL) is an organization which primarily consists of linguists whose work involves them in the law. Narrowly defined, this means linguistic evidence in court (authorship attribution, disputed confessions etc.), but in fact the association aims to bring together those working on any aspects of language and the law […]“ (Self-description)

Arbeitskreis „Sprache und Recht“ an der Universität Regensburg

„The working group is dedicated to a multifaceted exchange between the various scientific fields and includes members of several faculties of the University of Regensburg. „The main aim of the working group is to give interdisciplinary lectures, lectures, seminars and symposia on the subject of „Language and Law“ and to encourage and reward research by awarding prizes.“ (Self-description)

Forschungsnetzwerk „Sprache und Wissen“

„The research network Language and Knowledge is based on an association of predominantly linguistic scholars from Germany and abroad who have set themselves the goal of investigating the constitution, i.e. the linguization, of subject-specific objects and facts from a specific linguistic perspective in various socially relevant domains of knowledge.“ (Self-description)

Research Group Computer Assisted Legal Linguistics

„CAL2 is the acronym for the interdisciplinary research group Computer Assisted Legal Linguistics. Members of CAL2 are linguists, lawyers and computational (corpus) linguists who explore the fabric of language and law in Europe and the world. Since 2014 we have developed new big and multilingual reference corpora of legal texts (cf. JuReko) and tested computer supported methods as a basis for new perspectives on both micro and macro structures of legal meanings and dogmatics. We try to make the law more explicit.“ (Vogel 2019: 105) [1]

RELINE – Legal Linguistics Network

„The Legal Linguistics Network RELINE is a Danish-based international research network that promotes interdisciplinary studies in the interaction of language and the law. The network includes scholars from all parts of the world representing a great variety of disciplines and interests: jurists, linguists, rhetoricians, communication scholars, philosophers, political scientists and anthropologists.“ (Self-description)

ALIDI- Associação de Linguagem e Direito

„The ASSOCIATION OF LINGUAGE & LAW – ALIDI brings together researchers, professionals, students and people interested in the most diverse and plural studies of language in its interfaces with the Law. ALIDI’s members are spread throughout Brazil, Portugal and other countries and seek the dissemination, strengthening and expansion of studies and debates in the area, through the organization of annual congresses and publications of books, magazines and journals.“ (Self-description)

CRILL – Centre for Research in Language and Law

„CRILL is the institutional website established by the English Language Chair within the Department of Law of the University of Campania „Luigi Vanvitelli“, Italy. This Research Centre aims to disseminate scientific information and foster dialogue on all aspects of the interface between Language and Law, and promotes the development of research output by bringing together national and international scholars, research students as well as practitioners from a variety of disciplines. The Centre provides a focus for such activities, organizes conferences, seminars and visiting lectures, and undertakes research projects by a combination of individual and collaborative research of the highest international quality.“ (Self-description)

Legal Linguistics at the Centre for Legislative Studies at University of Zurich

„The Zurich Center for Linguistics (ZüKL) is a group of institutes and individuals who are involved in linguistic research in Zurich and who share common interests and resources. In administrative terms it belongs to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Zurich. Our central aim is to strengthen linguistics in Zurich. In detail: We promote scientific exchange and joint research projects. We pool technical and knowledge resources. We strive to build common training programmes. We inform the general public about linguistics.“ (Self-description)

Linguistic Society of America

„The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) was founded in 1924 to advance the scientific study of language. LSA plays a critical role in supporting and disseminating linguistic scholarship both to professional linguists and to the general public.“ (Self-description)

Germanic Society for Forensic Linguistic

„The Germanic Society for Forensic Linguistics (GSFL) is an international team made up of social scientists, practitioners, and students who are devoted to promoting cooperative work within the field of Forensic Linguistics to the betterment of the society. Towards that end, the GSFL holds an annual Roundtable where professionals working both inside and outside of academia can share their work with one another, in a supportive collegial environment.“ (Self-description)

Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL)

„The Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL) was founded in 2019. It is a substantial expansion of the former Aston Centre for Forensic Linguistics that was founded in 2008. […] The aim of the Institute is to improve the delivery of justice through the analysis of language. We combine world-leading research and practice with teaching and training in forensic linguistics.“ (Self-description)

Schweizerische Evaluationsgesellschaft (SEVAL)

„The Schweizerische Evaluationsgesellschaft was founded in 1996 with the aim of promoting dialogue and the exchange of information and experience between politics, administration, universities and consulting firms. In addition, the quality of evaluations is to be improved and the use of evaluations disseminated.“ (Self-description)

Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Verwaltungswissenschaften (SGVW)

SGVW is a platform for knowledge in the public sector and publishes information about the following topics: digital administration, federalism and territorial reforms, personal management and leadership in the public sector, state control, governmental tasks and public finances, administrative reforms.

Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Parlamentsfragen (SGP)

„We promote the exchange of information, opinions and experience between persons who, professionally, scientifically or in their capacity as members of the Council, deal with issues relating to the competences, organisation and procedures of parliaments. We raise awareness of the role and function of parliaments and support scientific research on them.“ (Self-description)

Zentrum für Rechtsetzungslehre (ZfR)

„ZfR is a research, service and training centre dealing with the methods, procedures and techniques of legislation and its role in the modern state.“ (Self-description)

CETEL, Centre d’étude, de technique et d’évaluation législatives

CETEL brings together and encourages research efforts in the fields of law making, implementation and evaluation of the effects on society. Since its foundation in 1975, its objective has been to deepen the range of contributions of the human and social sciences to the study and knowledge of law. In other words, CETEL is interested in the law in action, i.e. the law as it emerges from its implementation in practice, and not in the law as deduced from the simple reading of legislative texts. CETEL assumes responsibility for teaching in the Faculty of Law and also offers continuing education.“ (Self-description)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesetzgebung

„The DGG unites members of parliament, ministry officials, university teachers, lawyers, employees of associations, members of other professional groups. The call for the foundation of the Society (1987) was signed by over fifty well-known politicians, civil servants and university lecturers. The DGG publishes the results of its work in the „Zeitschrift für Gesetzgebung“. Board members are involved in the publication of the series „Beiträge zum Parlamentsrecht“. The DGG works closely with its sister organisations in Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden etc. In 1991 the DGG took the initiative to found the „European Association of Legislation“ (EAL), which was expanded in 2008 and transformed into the „International Association of Legislation (IAL)“.“ (Self-description)

International Association of Legislation (IAL)

„The purpose of the association is to promote science and research in the field of legislation. Therefore, international cooperation should be strengthened. Good laws are the basis for liberty and prosperity.“ (Self-description)

Österreichische Gesellschaft für Gesetzgebungslehre (ÖGGL)

„The Society is a scientific association for the treatment of theoretical and practical questions of legislation. It is not profit-oriented and carries out its activities in the public interest. It wants to promote the scientific discussion of the problems of legislation without limitation to a certain scientific discipline. Particular emphasis shall be placed on the practical support function of science.“ (Self-description)

ISLE – Istituto per la Documentazione e gli Studi Legislativi

ISLE, Institute for Documentation and Legislative Studies, was founded in 1962 on the initiative of some parliamentarians and senior executives of the two Houses, around the magazine Rassegna Parlamentare (which had begun publication in 1959). The Institute – following the model of the English Hansard Society – has the aim of „collaborating in the technical setting and documentation of the legislative activities of the Parliament and of the other constitutional bodies of the State, and of spreading, in Italy and abroad, the studies on legislation and parliamentary institutions also in relation to EU institutions“ (art. 2 of the Statute).“ (Self-description)

Law Society of Scotland

„The Law Society of Scotland is the professional body for over 12,000 Scottish solicitors and was established in 1949. We have an overarching objective of leading legal excellence, and strive to excel and to be a world-class professional body, understanding and serving the needs of our members and the public. We set and uphold standards to ensure the provision of excellent legal services and ensure the public can have confidence in Scotland’s legal profession.“

Lingugio amministrativo chiaro e semplice

„Since 1996/97 (at that time within the teaching of Theory and History of Rhetoric), the Chair of Italian Linguistics has promoted teaching, research and intervention activities in the field of administrative language simplification. “ (Vogel 2019: 67) [2]

REI – Rete d’eccellenza dell’italiano istituzionale

„The Rete di Eccellenza dell’Italiano Istituzionale (REI) was created on the initiative of Italian translators present in EU institutions and other experts from various sectors of political and academic institutions and the world of research and in particular thanks to the commitment of Daniela Murillo-Perdomo, linguistic referent of the Italian Department of the Directorate General of Translation (DGT) that on 23 November 2005 organized in Brussels the first meeting of the Network, divided into three working sessions chaired respectively by Francesco Sabatini, President of the Accademia della Crusca, Riccardo Gualdo, President of the Italian Terminology Association (Ass.I.Term.) and Michele Cortellazzo (Professor of Italian Linguistics at the University of Padua).“ (Vogel 2019: 67) [3]

ITTIG – Institute of Legal Information Theory ans Techniques

„The ITTIG researches into and applies information and communication technology to the areas of law and legal language, legislative technique, legal decision-making, and the training of lawyers. It also researches into themes related to law and public information and computing policy.“ (Vogel 2019: 67) [4]

LALIGI – Laboratorio di Linguistica Giudizaria

„The research, centered on Italian forensic linguistics (linguistica giudiziaria italiana), was founded in 1992. Since then, this field of study has held a constant and privileged position in the scientific activity of professor Patrizia Bellucci, in particular for the evident relevance of the themes confronted in both the field of linguistic analysis [special uses of language, asymmetrical interactions, non-literary texts, etc.] and in the linguistic training and the continuing linguistic education of various professions in diverse sectors.“ (Vogel 2019: 68) [5]

TRANSJUS – Laboratorio di comparazione , traduzione e linguistica giuridica

„The Transjus project aims to contribute to the improvement of the editorial and terminological quality of law drafted in a multilingual context, through scientific research and teaching activities related to legal translation.“ (Vogel 2019: 68) [6]

Eurolect Observatory

„Project objectives include the creation of the Eurolect Observatory Multilingual Corpus (EOMC): parallel and comparable corpus of European directives (Corpus A) and national laws of transposition (Corpus B) for Finnish, French, Greek, English, Italian, Latvian, Maltese, Dutch, Polish, Spanish and German; the description of the dynamics of linguistic contact-induced change; the provision of reference data that can be used to improve the drafting quality of legal texts produced by national institutions and EU language services.“
(Vogel 2019: 69) [7]

IUSLIT Department

„The SSLMIT has particularly strong ties with a number of international institutions, including the UN and the EU, to which it has provided a significant numbers of translators and interpreters over the decades. The SSLMIT is one of the founding members of CIUTI (Conférence Internationale Permanente d’Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes) which, established in 1961, is the world’s most prestigious international association of university institutes with translation and interpreting programmes. Other international affiliations of the SSLMIT are with the European Master’s in Translation (EMT), the European Masters in Conference Interpreting (EMCI) and the European Language Council.“ (Vogel 2019: 69) [8]

QUALETRA (Project) / EULITA (Working Group)

„This project proposal responds mainly to section B of the Action Grant call: “Projects that promote training of […] translators who specialise in criminal proceedings”, also involving “Comparative projects involving practices in different Member States in relation to […] translation, [and] to information“.“ (Vogel 2019: 69) [9]

TransLaw

„The TransLaw project aims to provide better interpreting services in the legal domain for people who do not have sufficient command of the official language of the country in which they are residing. Thanks to integrated research in the fields of interpreting studies and law, this project seeks to contribute to the state of knowledge and training methods in both fields.“ (Vogel 2019: 69) [10]

AVIDICUS 1-3

„AVIDICUS 3 focused on the use of videoconferencing in bilingual legal proceedings involving an interpreter.“ (Vogel 2019: 69) [11]

CERLIS

„CERLIS is a research laboratory in the humanities and social sciences focused on the issue of the social bond. It is supervised by Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Nouvelle University and CNRS (Mixed Research Unit 8070). The laboratory’s activity has been organised since 1 January 2019 around four research areas (listed in alphabetical order): Culture, Media, Sociabilities; Education, Socialization, Age of life; Family, Individualization, Institutions; Work, Classes, Lifestyles.“ (Vogel 2019: 70) [12]

DISTU – DIPARTIMENTO DI STUDI LINGUISTICO-LETTERARI, STORICO-FILOSOFICI E GIURIDICI

/n.a./

(Vogel 2019: 71) [13]

ForensicLab

„The Forensic Linguistics Laboratory (ForensicLab) at Institut Universitari de Lingüística Aplicada (IULA) was a centre at Universitat Pompeu Fabra that developed teaching and research activities in forensic linguistics, and made use of linguistic evidence for forensic purposes in Court. It was founded in 1993 by Professor Maria Teresa Turell, pioneer in forensic linguistics in Spain, who directed it until 2013. It was a section of the research group (SGR2008-00650), known as Unitat de Variació Lingüística (UVAL), currently renamed as Morfoval.“ (Self-description)

GENTT – Textual Genres for Translation

„GENTT […] [is] a research group within the Department of Translation and Communication at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón (Spain), focusing on the application of the concept of textual genre to the analysis of specialised multilingual communication“ (Vogel 2019: 89) [14]

MIRAS – Mediation and Interpretation: Reserach in the Social Area

„Created in 2009, the MIRAS (Mediation and Interpretation: Research in the Social Area) research group’s main object of study is Public Service Interpreting (PSI). The group was founded on the initiative of a group of researchers from the Department of Translation and Interpreting and East Asian Studies of the UAB, in view of the growing demand for skilled translators and interpreters detected by different immigrant care services from the Catalan public administration. The training and accreditation of this professional profile, as well as the research associated with its activity, become academic and scientific challenges that the group will faced. MIRAS integrates researchers from the UAB, as well as researchers from other national and international universities, and collaborators who are professionally linked to PSI and intercultural mediation.“ (Self-description)

FITISPos – Training an Research on Public Service Translation and Interpretating Group

„The University of Alcalá (the FITISPos Group — training and research in public service translation and interpreting) in Madrid, Spain, offers a postgraduate program in translation including master’s in intercultural communication, and public service interpreting and translation. Operating since 2005 and previously as a postgraduate course, it has a two-way orientation, focusing both on research and professional training. The master’s program is aimed at people with an extensive knowledge of Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, English, French, German, Polish, Romanian or Russian. Its final objective is to provide students with the theoretical knowledge and the skills, abilities and tools they need to act as linguistic, communicative and cultural liaisons. Emphasis is put in training of both direct and inverse translation, sight translation, consecutive, bilateral and simultaneous interpreting.“ (Vogel 2019: 90) [15]

Centre Interlangues – Texte, Image, Langage (EA 4182)

„The Centre Interlangues brings together researchers from the UFR Langues et Communication: Anglicists, Hispanists, Italianists, Germanists and literary colleagues. Our themes combine disciplinary research and interdisciplinary approaches.“

CRTT – Centre de Recherche en Terminologie et Traduction

„The CRTT (Centre de Recherche en Terminologie et Traduction) brings together linguists working on the languages represented within the UFR langues (English, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Chinese) and in the various branches of applied linguistics in the broad sense (lexicology, neology, lexicography, terminology, specialised discourse, corpus linguistics, translation, sociolinguistics, language didactics).“ (Self-description)

Amsterdam Circle for Law and Language

/n.a./

Darmstädter Gruppe „Analyse der juristischen Sprache“

„The subject matter was especially the development of automated (mechanical) procedures for law analysis and interpretation („subsumption-machines“ in the literal sense), whereat linguists had only played a minor role though.“ (Vogel 2019: 105) [16]

 

 

Interdisziplinäre Arbeitsgruppe „Sprache des Rechts“

„At the end of 1999, a working group „Language of Law“, composed of lawyers and linguists, was formed at the BBAW with the aim of advancing the interdisciplinary discussion on fields of intersection between language and law and initiating empirical research on selected areas of investigation.“ (Vogel 2019: 105) [17]

European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association (EULITA)

„EULITA is committed to promoting the quality of justice, ensuring access to justice across languages and cultures and thus, ultimately, guaranteeing the fundamental principles of human rights as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.“ (Self-description)

Japan Association for Language and Law

/n.a./

Multicultural Association of Law and Language

„The Multicultural Association of Law and Language (hereafter as MALL) was founded in 2009 with Secretariat located in Hong Kong. The MALL aims to provide a platform for scholars from different jurisdictions and cultures to exchange views on the interface between law and language, with a specific focus on the interdisciplinary and multicultural nature of law, language and discourse.“

References

[1] Mentioned in Vogel, F. (Editor): Legal Linguistics Beyond Borders: Language and Law in a World of Media, Globalisation and Social Conflicts. 2019 p.105
[2],[3],[4] „ibid.“ p. 67
[5],[6] „ibid.“ p. 68
[7],[8],[9],[10],[11] „ibid.“ p. 69
[12] „ibid.“ p. 70
[13] „ibid.“ p. 71
[14] „ibid.“ p. 89
[15] „ibid“ p. 90
[16],[17] „ibid“ p. 105