Legal Translation of Legal in French: juridique or légal?

⚠️ A Word That Looks Obvious… but Demands Precision

The English word legal seems easy to translate, but it is too often mapped directly onto the French légal. In practice, it far more frequently means juridique or judiciaire.

👉 The exact sense depends on the institutional, procedural, or doctrinal context.

⚖️ Most of the Time: juridique

In the majority of cases, legal refers broadly to the field of law and should be translated as juridique.

🧑‍⚖️ Sometimes: judiciaire

When it concerns procedures or litigation, legal must be rendered as judiciaire.

🧾 Specific Cases: légal in the Strict Sense

In certain contexts, legal should indeed be translated as légal (meaning lawful or having statutory force).

✅ In Summary

📌 TransLex Guidance

Before translating legal, ask yourself:

• Does it refer to the general field of law (juridique)?

• To a judicial procedure (judiciaire)?

• Or to conformity with the law (légal)?

👉 The classic mistake is systematically translating legal as légal, which undermines clarity and precision in legal texts.