Abstract: We study the translation of European law in contrast with general legal translation. We compare European law and the national legal systems and we identify the challenges faced by translators and the translation methods they use when dealing with European law. We give the term "acquis" as an example and we conclude that the methods most frequently used to translate European law are the calque, the borrowing and the creation of new terms. Even if European law does not usually include culture-bound terms, the translator must have a cultural competence, as European law comes into contact with the national legal systems. The translation of European law is no less difficult than general legal translation, because the translator must observe a standardized terminology.

Key words: European law, national law, terminology, translation, culture-bound legal terms.