About the Guide

This guide is intended to provide Ukrainian speakers with information, in their native tongue, on concepts in English law, and also to provide linguistic support to learners of Ukrainian and to professionals (academics, lawyers, public service translators), researchers, students and others in their work, research or study.

Since Ukrainian independence in 1991 there has been increased contact between lawyers and legislators in Ukraine and the UK. There are now many exchanges between, and visits by, legal professionals as well as academics working in law and political and social sciences. English courts hear a significant number of cases where one or more of the parties is Ukrainian-speaking and originally from Ukraine (these range from personal injury claims and criminal prosecutions to high-profile commercial disputes in which both parties accept the jurisdiction of the UK courts). It is hoped that this guide will provide legal and linguistic information which will be of assistance in these situations.

Whilst several general English-Ukrainian legal dictionaries have been published in recent years, these do not, in the main, provide useful explanations of concepts in English law, frequently limiting themselves to literal renderings, which do not give Ukrainian speakers a true idea of the implications of a given term. The guide aims to rectify this shortcoming.

The creation of the guide was inspired by an earlier collaboration between the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London and the Ukrainian Legal Foundation in Kyiv, in a project to produce a general database of Ukrainian/English legal terminology, funding for which was provided originally by the Karl Popper Foundation and the (then) UK Overseas Development Administration.

Navigation

Click on a letter in the alphabetical navigation bar to go to the page containing terms beginning with that letter. Click on a term to display/hide the Ukrainian rendering of the term. This requires Javascript to be enabled in your web browser. If you require help with this, you may find it helpful to read this page.

Sources

The Ukrainian explanations of realia in English law have, in the main, been prepared by the compilers specifically for this guide. Sources which were consulted in the course of the work are listed here.

Legislation

Wherever possible, reference is made to the UK laws which have given rise to specific terms. The full English names of laws cited in Ukrainian in the entries are given here.

Abbreviations

The common abbreviations for some of the terms contained in the guide are given here.

Acknowledgements

This guide was compiled by Jim Dingley and Marta Jenkala. Its publication would not have been possible without the contributions of Aniela Grundy, Adrian Jenkala and Roman Krawec (United Kingdom) and Oksana Kushlyk and Andriy Pravednyk (Ukraine), all of whose work is gratefully acknowledged. The project was based at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.

Disclaimer

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy (both linguistic and legal) of the material in the guide, the compilers and the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies do not accept responsibility for any consequences of its use in actual legal proceedings.

Feedback

It is intended that the guide will be enhanced and updated, and any feedback on the entries will be welcomed.

September 2012