Legal phrases are confusing in any language but doubly so in another language with a different type of legal system.
The legal system used in Spanish speaking countries functions differently to ours (in the the UK).
This is due to the UK legal system taking an adversarial approach while in Spanish speaking countries the inquisitorial system is used.
The result is that some of the Spanish legal terms do not have commonly used english equivalents. Or there are terms which appear the same but have different meanings. A good example is magistrado meaning magistrate (in both languages) but unfortunately with a completely different meaning in the legal sense.
General phrases relating to criminal law and the courts
| the jury | el jurado |
| death penalty | pena de muerte |
| to charge with | imputar un cargo |
| I didn't believe he was guilty | No creia que fuera culpable |
| being a penologist | siendo un penalista |
| recidivist | reincidente |
| in the courts | en los cortes |
| to find him guilty | encontrarlo culpable |
| accused (person) | acusado |
| accused (person) | imputado |
| accused (person) | procesado |
| defendant | defenso |
| involved (person) | involucrados |
| interrogate | interrogar |
| the crime | el delito |
| the suspects | los sospechosos |
| the judges | los jueces |
| ... are able to judge ... | ... tener la facultad de juzga ... |
General legal/constitutional terms
| accusatorial system | sistema acusatorio |
| the justice system | el sistema de justicia |
| judicial authority | la autoridad judicial |
| code, statute | codigo |
| the constitution | codigo |
| the legislativo power | el poder legislativo |
| magistrate | magistrado |
| The laws of the country | Las leyes del pais |
| The carrying out of justice | La realizacion de la justicia |
| legal | juridico |
| legal department | departamento juridico |
| (legal) proceedings | los procedimientos |
| civil proceedings | los procedimientos civiles |
| commercial proceedings | los procedimientos mercantiles |
| case law | jurisprudencia |
| legal process, proceedings | el proceso |
| trial | juicio |
| action, lawsuit | demanda |
| writ | orden |
| to sue for divorce | presentar demanda de divorcio |
| to take legal proceedings | entablar demanda |
A magistrado is not a magistrate in the English sense of a layman sitting on the bench.