Habeas corpus: theoretical reflections and translation strategies to (spanish ”“ portuguese) legal term

Abstract

This paper reflects on translation strategies applicable to legal texts. The discussion focuses on uses of the term habeas corpus in the language pair Spanish ”“ Portuguese, which, in spite of presenting identical spelling, differ in terms of scope, effects and rites in their respective legal systems. Considering the term habeas corpus as a culture-specific item in translation, this paper presents the history and the development of this principle in the Brazilian system and in the system of some Spanish speaking countries, aiming at reflecting upon the differences among the systems in contact and at suggesting translations strategies to dealing with the term. The paper draws attention to the fact that some dictionaries may not account for the diversity of uses of the term habeas corpus, as they are used in Spanish speaking countries. Considering that diversity, the paper suggests strategies to translating the legal term, emphasizing the importance of consulting accurate, specialized dictionaries ”” that preferably ””, as to avoid rendering translated texts that disregard culture-specific particularities of the term. After reviewing the theoretical background on habeas corpus, as a freedom-granting instrument (both in terms of freedom of locomotion and in terms of a wider specter of rights considered as individual instances of freedom), this paper discusses the translation of legal texts as conditioned by the cultural environments in which these texts are produced and consumed. Drawing on the discussions of Javier Franco Aixelá on culture-specific items in translation, six possibilities of translation strategies for dealing with the term habeas corpus (or similar figure in other systems) are presented, followed by analyses of instances of use of the term and by examples of intra-textual explanation and universalization of the term, taken from headlines of pieces of news on legal matters. Above all, this discussion aims at fostering a debate on a relatively uncovered area of study within the Translation Studies, thusly, contributing to the development of the discipline with an investigation on translation between close languages.