"Maurice and I created this guidebook to assist international lawyers and law students seeking to master, or at least to decipher, the Latin recurrently injected into our profession's already arcane argot. It may seem strange that a reference book-sized niche remains in the twenty-first century given the profusion of legal reference works, but the fact remains that recognizing the need for a guidebook like this one is a little uncomfortable. The use of Latin in international legal writing is supposed to appear natural, if not inevitable. We typically pepper our writings with Latin as if the dead language were cayenne in a jambalaya-the more the better. Yet, at some level we are all aware that we often obscure rather than clarify our meaning when we use it instead of plain English. And when we get the Latin right, which we frequently do, and pronounce the words without butchering them beyond all hope of recognition, which we occasionally do, the practice nonetheless tends to baffle law students and even experienced international lawyers unschooled in the vernacular of Cicero. Aspiring international lawyers may wonder about the ubiquity of Latin in international legal discourse in the first place. It may seem that the esoterism of such a prevalent practicecan only be intentional. The official explanation is that much early international law was developed by the Roman Empire, and the much admired Roman civil law has found its way by analogy into public international law wherever a lacuna or ambiguity in the principles of international law arose.1 When combined with the fact that Latin was the scholarly lingua franca of most of Europe during international law's early development, international lawyers have inherited an even better-stocked arsenal of Latin phrases and terms than other lawyers"--
As knowledge of Latin continues to diminish, its frequent use in cases, textbooks, treaties, and scholarly works baffles law students, practitioners, and scholars alike. Many of the Latin terms commonly used by international lawyers are not included in some of the more popular law
dictionaries. Terms and phrases included in modern dictionaries usually offer nothing more than a literal translation without sufficient explanation or context provided.
The Guide to Latin in International Law provides a comprehensive approach and includes both literal translations and definitions with several useful innovations. Included is not only the modern English pronunciation but also the classical or "restored" pronunciation. Its etymology is more complete
than the leading law dictionary on the market, and the definition for each term includes examples used in context whenever helpful. Each entry is also cross-referenced to related terms for ease of use. This updated edition is the quintessential desktop reference for understanding Latin terms and
phrases across all areas of international law.
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgments
Pronunciation
Etymology and Grammar Key
Guide to Latin in International Law: Alphabetical listings of terms
Appendices
Adverbial Numbers
Cardinal Numbers
Ordinal Numbers
Aaron X. Fellmeth is the Dennis S. Karjala Professor of Law, Science, and Technology at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Professor Fellmeth is a leading expert in public international law, international business transactions, and intellectual property law. He has published extensively on international legal theory, the history of international law, the international law of armed conflict, international trade law, human rights, and patent and copyright law. He teaches in the areas of public international law, international human rights law, and international business law.
Professor Fellmeth's work has been cited several times by federal courts and in testimony before Congress. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the International Law Association's American Branch and is the chair of its International Human Rights Committee. He is also Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law's Human Rights Interest Group and a member of the Executive Committee of the Lieber Society
on the Law of Armed Conflict.
Before coming to ASU, Professor Fellmeth clerked for the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. International Trade Commission and at the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. He then spent seven years at international law firms practicing international business law, public international law, and intellectual property law.
Maurice Horwitz received a master's degree in Classics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a JD from the University of Southern California. He is currently a Director and Restructuring Senior Counsel at Hudson Advisors L.P.
