A Glossary of Constitutional Terms: English / Nepali

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Fortunately for translators, no new Latin phrases of this sort are verylikely to come into Nepali law, as no new Latin phrases are beingcoined in English law and the use of Latin is being reduced. So, ifneed be, they can refer to well-established existing translations.However, translators should be aware that there are certain phrasesroutinely used in English legal language with a technical depth ofmeaning that is not overtly obvious, and they should thus translateaccordingly:For example, 'The Supreme Court shall be a court ofrecord' should not be translated literally (it's meaninglessanyway). Nor should it be translated as 'the Supreme Courtshould keep records.' This is a technical phrase and careshould be taken to find the most appropriate translation.'If a senator becomes subject to any of the disabilitiesmentioned in the last preceding section' does not mean ifthe senator breaks a leg ! The disabilities are legal disabilities(probably like being bankrupt or convicted of a criminaloffence).Light at the End of the Tunnel?Modern trends are, encouragingly, towards greater simplicity. Thereis a movement for clear and straightforward use of English inlegal and public contexts. (See, for example, the website of Clarityand 'Fight the Fog' campaign—http://www.clarity-international.net/—and that of the European Union Translators 'Fight theFog' campaign—http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/clear_writing/fight_the_fog_en.pdf 2 .)IXA Glossary of Constitutional Terms
Various courses in simple legal language are being offered anddrafting traditions are beginning to change. 'Must' (not 'shall') isbeing used. Drafters avoid saying 'he' or even 'he or she' and use aplural pronoun 'they' instead. Sentences are becoming shorter. See,for example, the Constitution of South Africa:1. The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign,democratic state founded on the following values:Human dignity, the achievement of equality and theadvancement of human rights and freedoms.Non-racialism and non-sexism.Supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.Universal adult suffrage, a national common voters' roll,regular elections and a multiparty system of democraticgovernment, to ensure accountability, responsivenessand openness.3… (3) National legislation must provide for theacquisition, loss and restoration of citizenship.It even says 'women and men' when talking of office holders, ratherthan 'persons' or 'citizens'; it certainly never uses 'he' to include'she'!XOf course, these developments are of little help to the translator,who must either use the words/phrases traditionally used totranslate particular usages or must choose words whose meaningsare as close as possible to that of the original. Translators should notA Glossary of Constitutional Terms
Page 4: A Glossary ofConstitutional TermsLe
Page 10: AcknowledgementsThe International I
Page 13 and 14: Avoidance of PunctuationDrafters of
Page 15 and 16: The Use of Sexist LanguageAnother a
Page 17 and 18: Another is the word 'deemed': for e
Page 19: Drafters usually stick with the old
Page 24 and 25: Constitutional Terms*Signifies that
Page 26 and 27: 10. accountable [to]adj.A slightly
Page 28 and 29: 24. advance vi. and vt. Make progre
Page 30 and 31: 42. alter vt. Make changes; modify
Page 32 and 33: 59. appointment n. An act of nomina
Page 34 and 35: 74. Attorney-General*n. phraseThe c
Page 36 and 37: 94. board n. A group of people cont
Page 38 and 39: 112. censure vt. and n. Reprimand b
Page 40 and 41: 130. Commander-in-Chief* n. phrase1
Page 42 and 43: 142. comply vt. Act in accordance w
Page 44 and 45: 158. consistent [with]adj.Conformin
Page 46 and 47: 173. constitutionality n. Acting in
Page 48 and 49: 190. costs n. When used in plural i
Page 50 and 51: 205. defamation* n. The act of defa
Page 52 and 53: 220. derogate [from] vt. To lessen
Page 54 and 55: 236. discretion n. The power or fre
Page 56 and 57: 255. emblem n. A special design or
Page 58 and 59: 276. equal protection ofthe laws* n
Page 60 and 61: 292. executive n. In C, likely refe
Page 62 and 63: 307. fiscal adj. Relating to public
Page 64 and 65: {324. government, cooperativen.325.
Page 66 and 67: 338. impartial adj. Not favouring o
Page 68 and 69: 355. inhuman adj. Lacking normal hu
Page 70 and 71:
369. interpretation n. The act of e
Page 72 and 73:
389. lawful adj. Allowed by law; le
Page 74 and 75:
407. magistrates n. Members of the
Page 76 and 77:
418. media n. Pl. of medium; in C,
Page 78 and 79:
437. nation n. A large community of
Page 80 and 81:
450. non-discriminationn.Treating p
Page 82 and 83:
466. ordinance* n. Lesser law than
Page 84 and 85:
482. part-time adj. For less than t
Page 86 and 87:
499. polling n. Conducting of publi
Page 88 and 89:
515. present adj. and v. (adj.) (Of
Page 90 and 91:
530. progressive adj. Moving forwar
Page 92 and 93:
544. province n. A territory govern
Page 94 and 95:
562. reconciliation n. Re-establish
Page 96 and 97:
579. religiousdenomination n.phrase
Page 98 and 99:
593. reservations n. In India, the
Page 100 and 101:
608. rule of law* n.phraseThe condi
Page 102 and 103:
623. self-incriminationn.The act of
Page 104 and 105:
637. society n. The totality of soc
Page 106 and 107:
649. subject to* vt. andn.(vt.) Req
Page 108 and 109:
663. tax* n. and vt. Levy or money
Page 110 and 111:
679. transition n. The process or p
Page 112 and 113:
698. verdict n. The decision of a c
Page 114:
Appendix: Names of Parts ofLegislat
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A Glossary of Constitutional Terms: English / Nepali

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