Swiss German to English law dictionary online/DE-EN Wörterbuch des Schweizer Rechts online

Sascha Stocker Legal English Dictionary – you might have seen this mentioned in a comment to an earlier entry. Sascha Stocker is a Swiss lawyer who has just started putting a DE-EN-DE dictionary of Swiss legal language online. I haven’t had much time to look at it so can’t say much (I am being subjected to various therapies in Teletubby country near Lake Constance). Contributions are possible and will be vetted by the author. Today there are 545 terms in the dictionary, but it is growing, and there’s a forum there too.

It would be great to have such a dictionary, although a German-Swiss one would do just as well. I use a variety of books – see earlier entry on Swiss German dictionaries.

I am just looking at the very beginning: Absicht and Vorsatz both translated as intention. That is quite correct. However, there are times in criminal law where a distinction has to be made. Vorsatz and intention are very wide terms, whereas Absicht is like the English specific intention. That’s why legal German (not just Swiss) has two terms – because they have two meanings. You might be convicted of murder under English law although your intention (mens rea) was developed only a second before the act, in a fight. But if you planned a murder, it would be a case of specific intention / intent.

That’s not really a criticism, just a comment.

5 thoughts on “Swiss German to English law dictionary online/DE-EN Wörterbuch des Schweizer Rechts online

  1. Thanks for that link, Margaret. I wait with bated breath for a posting of the EN translations for the CH bugbears of provisorische vs. definitive Rechts

    • Well, first of all, tanks Margaret for your article about SLED. I surly will reply soon.

      I just wanted to let Adrian know that there is no need to hold his breath any longer. I have published a translation for “provisorische” and “definitive Rechts

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