When I was at secondary school, my reiterated complaints at having to study a dead language like Latin were invariably met by a standard riposte starting with the words: “Well, if you decide to become a lawyer when you grow up …”. At the time, this seemed scant consolation.

I have since grown up without becoming a lawyer, but I do translate legal documents, so the relevance of the oft-received standard riposte stands to a large degree. Legal terminology most certainly contains a good many expressions in Latin. In fact, certain expressions have even found their way into the realms of general parlance, such as de facto.

I have since grown up without becoming a lawyer, but I do translate legal documents, so the relevance of the oft-received standard riposte stands to a large degree. Legal terminology most certainly contains a good many expressions in Latin. In fact, certain expressions have even found their way into the realms of general parlance, such as de facto.

Why is there so much Latin in legal language?

In legal translations, these terms tend to remain unchanged between different languages, making our work as translators just that little bit less complicated. But how on earth did these terms, borne of a language spoken in one relatively small part of the world many centuries ago, manage to stake such a strong claim in contemporary legal systems?

To answer this question, we first need to look at the duration of the Roman Empire. Rome was founded in 753 BC and, if we take the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD as the empire’s definitive demise, we are looking at a period spanning over 2,200 years. During this time, Latin – its official language – took root in Western Europe so strongly that it became the basis of most of the languages spoken there today (https://www.juridicainternational.eu/public/pdf/ji_2005_X_199.pdf). In particular, Latin became the language of government, administration and commerce, including legal processes.

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Latin retained its hierarchy in Western Europe, consolidating its place in other aspects of life such as science and religion, particularly during the Renaissance. In parallel, however, was the development of local legal systems in this part of the world influenced primarily by Roman Law (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-law). 

According to the Scottish historian Alan Watson, a large contribution to this process was made by “legal borrowing” under which holes in local legislation would often be plugged by lawyers referring to Roman Law (https://voegelinview.com/the-contribution-of-roman-law-to-modern-legal-systems/). 

This trend has applied equally to terms and concepts, which is why the presence of terms like habeus corpus, in rem, de jure, etc. (even including etc. itself from the Latin et cetera) is common in contemporary legal texts. 

So now I get it. This is why whenever I questioned the merits of studying Latin at school I’d get the same reply ad nauseum!