[Cadaad] CLAVIER 2026 Seminar Status quaestionis: Multiple perspectives on English Legal Language and Translation

[Giuseppina Di Gregorio]

CLAVIER 2026 Seminar
Status quaestionis: Multiple perspectives on
English Legal Language and Translation

10-11 December 2026
University of Catania
Department of Law

Call for papers

The contemporary landscape of Legal English is increasingly defined by a shift from a monolithic entity to a diverse array of Legal Englishes, reflecting the role of English as a global lingua franca in legal, judicial and institutional settings. Within multilayered legal systems, practitioners and professionals from various fields (e.g. lawyers, judges, translators and interpreters, but also public servants) must navigate national, supranational, and international varieties, which often leave linguistic "traces" in texts, such as when supranational law is transposed into national legislation or when international case law interacts with national legislation. The interaction between varieties, and the need for translation in many communicative settings, may lead to significant hurdles for Legal English terminology, but also to a (rapid) evolution beyond terminology of both Legal English and other languages for legal purposes.
In recent years, the awareness of the wide audience which legal and judicial written and spoken communication may reach has been driving simplification in legal drafting, translation, and institutional communication to ensure that information is accessible to laypersons. This focus on inclusion encompasses the implementation of plain language and easy-to-read language, which require a detailed profiling of the target audience, as well as the use of gender-neutral and gender-sensitive language. Furthermore, the dissemination of legal knowledge has been expanding through knowledge mediation, popularization, transmediation, and transcreation, recurring for instance to visual design and modern media entertainment/infotainment to explain complex law to the general public.
These shifts present profound challenges in both using and teaching Legal English(es) and legal translation, which are changing at an incredibly fast pace due to the incorporation of innovative technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs). Despite the benefits brought by AI and LLMs, their application in specialized legal translation raises critical concerns regarding accuracy, data reliability, and ethical implications.
Given the variety of aspects that fall within the broad areas of Legal English(es) and legal translation in and to English and the need to adopt interdisciplinary and mixed-method approaches to study them, this seminar is intended as a platform where scholars with different expertise engage in scholarly dialogue aimed at fostering research interaction and possibly collaboration.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:
·       Defining the boundaries of Legal English(es);
·       National, supranational and international varieties of Legal English;
·       English as a lingua franca in legal and judicial discourse;
·       Legal English terminology;
·       Simplification in legal drafting, legal translation and institutional communication;
·       Inclusion in Legal English (plain language, easy-to-read language, gender-neutral and gender-sensitive language);
·       Legal knowledge mediation, popularization, simplification, transmediation and transcreation involving Legal English;
·       Legal English in modern media entertainment and audiovisual translation;
·       Benefits and challenges of innovative technologies (e.g. AI and LLMs) in Legal English and legal translation in and to English;
·       The challenges of teaching Legal English and Legal translation in and from English.

Keynote speakers
Jan Engberg (Aarhus University)
Giuliana Garzone (IULM)

Presentation Guidelines
Papers will be allotted 20 minutes, plus 5 minutes for discussion.

Abstract Submission
Please send your anonymous abstract of no more than 300 words (including max 5 references) to the following addresses: g.digregorio at unict.it<mailto:g.digregorio at unict.it> and kperuzzo at units.it<mailto:kperuzzo at units.it>.
Please do not include any self-identifying information in the abstract; indicate only the title and the abstract itself. In a separate file, include:
Title:
Author(s):
Affiliation(s):
Postal mailing address (for primary author):
E-mail (for primary author):

Important dates
Abstract submission: 30 June 2026
Notification of acceptance: 31 July 2026
Information on registration will be provided in due course.

Organising Committee
Cristina Arizzi, Massimiliano Demata, Giuseppina Di Gregorio, Maria Teresa Musacchio, Giuseppe Palumbo, Katia Peruzzo, Giuliana Russo, Marco Venuti, Francesca Vigo, Raffaele Zago.

Scientific Committee
Cristina Arizzi (Università di Catania)
Giuseppe Balirano (Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”)
Maria Bortoluzzi (Università di Udine)
Gloria Cappelli (Università di Pisa)
Paola Catenaccio (Università di Milano)
Costanza Cucchi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Massimiliano Demata (Università di Catania)
Olga Denti (Università di Cagliari)
Giuliana Diani (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia)
Giuseppina Di Gregorio (Università di Catania)
Roberta Facchinetti (Università di Verona)
Daniele Franceschi (Università di Roma Tre)
Antonio Guidara (Università di Catania)
Jean Marguerite Jimenez (Università della Calabria)
Stefania Maci (Università di Bergamo)
Denise Milizia (Università di Bari)
Renzo Mocini (Università di Roma Sapienza)
Maria Teresa Musacchio (Università di Trieste)
Jekaterina Nikitina (Università di Milano)
Giuseppe Palumbo (Università di Trieste)
Giulia Adriana Pennisi (Università di Palermo)
Katia Peruzzo (Università di Trieste)
Douglas Ponton (Università di Catania)
Carla Quinci (Università di Padova)
Giuliana Russo (Università di Catania)
Katherine Russo (Università di Napoli L’ Orientale)
Christina Samson (Università di Firenze)
Maria Grazia Sindoni (Università di Messina)
Girolamo Tessuto (Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli)
Marco Venuti (Università di Catania)
Francesca Vigo (Università di Catania)
Christopher Williams (Università di Foggia)
Raffaele Zago (Università di Catania)



Giuseppina Di Gregorio, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow/Assistant Professor of English language (Rtd B)
Via Santa Maddalena n.56
95124 - Catania

[cid:b4c60a83-7cf2-4c60-802c-ed4e1b4abb13]


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