Interpretation of European Union multilingual law
Interpretation of European Union multilingual law

Summary/Abstract: The problem of multilingual European Union legal texts lies in the interpretation of the texts: they vary to some degree, and if so, how should their meaning be defined? ECJ rejects a monolingual or metalanguage approach of interpretation. The ECJ has adopted a multilingual doctrine of statutory interpretation, wherein the law of the European Union is interpreted not in accordance to any one of its textual manifestations, but in accordance with the legislative intent which generated the provision in question. This could be criticized as increasing legal uncertainty and indeterminacy. Nevertheless, we have also determined that the ECJ's multilingual approach is less radical than it may at first appear.

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