What to call an Auskunftsperson or personne appelée à donner des renseignements in English? Any person who is required to give information to the police or to testify at a trial is referred to as a “witness” in English. Under British law, in order to give evidence, witnesses must be “competent”, i.e. able to understand […]

Master the difference between jurisdiction and competence The English term “jurisdiction” can have different meanings, depending on the context: The official power to hear a suit and to make judicially binding decisions or judgements (e.g. “The courts of Switzerland have no jurisdiction in/over the matter”, “The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals from […]

“Continuance” is a term used in American legal English for the postponement or adjournment of legal proceedings. The proceedings continue when the continuance period comes to an end.Confusion can arise when using the verb “continue”, which, depending on the context, can have two opposing meanings: either to resume proceedings after an interruption, as in “the […]

The English word “revert” never has the meaning “to contact a person again (about something already discussed)”. In normal parlance, to revert means to go back to an earlier subject, state, or practice after having departed from it. For example, people learning a foreign language sometimes revert to their native language when they can’t find […]