INFLUENCE OF EUROPEAN LEGAL TERMINOLOGY ON THE UKRAINIAN LEGISLATIVE TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

The analysis of the influence of European legal terminology on the terminology of national legislation by adapting Ukrainian legislation to the legislation of the European Union is carried out. It is emphasized that Ukraine’s desire to become a member of the EU necessitated the mandatory adoption of acquis communautaire, as well as legal and institutional mechanisms for their implementation. According to the National Program for the Adaptation of the Legislation of Ukraine to the Legislation of the European Union, this mechanism includes the adaptation of legislation, the creation of relevant institutions and other additional measures necessary for effective law-making and enforcement. It is established that, despite the natural aspirations of lawyers for unambiguity in the categorical apparatus, the meaning of the term ‘European legal terminology’ will always correlate with the concept of ‘European law’, for which there is still no common understanding. The author defines the term ‘European legal terminology’: it is a legal term system, the source of which is a set of legal rules, court decisions, doctrinal concepts, recommendations and agreements, etc., which arose during the existence of European integration associations. The main directions of influence of the European legal terminology on the Ukrainian legislative terminology are defined. European legal terminology penetrates into a wide range of legal relations in the fields of customs law, banking law, taxes, intellectual property, labor protection, competition rules, health and life of humans, animals and plants, environment, etc., which puts Ukraine before amending many regulations, especially in terms of terminology. The classification of directions of influence of the European legal terminology by priority spheres of adaptation of the legislation of Ukraine to the legislation of the European Union and by types of legal activity is offered. The positive and negative consequences of the influence of European terminology, which the legislative terminology of Ukraine has suffered on the European integration path as a result of the implementation of European legal terminology, are analyzed. The problems in the practice of legal translation, mistakes in the Ukrainian legislation, caused by the implementation of acquis communautaire and the terminological inconsistencies are considered. The ambiguity in scientific and professional circles of understanding of the concept of ‘European law’ has been established, which led to an attempt to provide a generalized definition of the term ‘European legal terminology’. It is substantiated that in Ukraine European legal terminology becomes the standard and criterion in the lawmaking process, the working categorical apparatus in law enforcement and the most common object of interpretation in the field of law. The necessity of further study of the linguistic aspects of the terminology of certain priority spheres of adaptation of the Ukrainian legislation to the EU legislation, the analysis of the practice of interpreting acquis communautaire, the use of European legal terminology in law enforcement activities and the problems of legal translation of European legal terminology have been established.