SLEDICT is certainly not the only online German-English dictionary, but it is the only online dictionary for legal English terms based on Swiss law. There are dictionaries based on American and British law (e.g. dictionary.law.com or TheFreeDictionary.com), but none of them is based on Swiss law. On the other dictionaries you will not find translations for words like Stammkapital of a Swiss LLC or provisorische Rechtsöffnung. SLEDICT is an attempt to create a platform where users with a legal and/or linguistic background can share their knowledge in the field of legal translations. Every visitor can suggest new translations and correct other users' suggestions. I always try to use official translations where available (for example from admin.ch, ch.ch, from federal offices like the Federal Office for Migration or cantonal offices like the Commercial Registry Office of the Canton of Zurich etc.), but there are often no official translations. Then, I try to use words which are frequently used in the legal practice.
Since I was a law student at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), it bothered me that there is no legal German-English dictionary aimed at jurists and lawyers working on legal English text based on Swiss law. During my past two years working as a lawyer, I tried to write down every (well almost) legal term and expression I passed by. For two years, I used a simple Excel-sheet for my dwarfish reference book. After a while and after several hundred word pairs, I came up with the idea to put my reference book online so I can modify it from everywhere. I reserved swisslegalenglish.com and started to create SLEDICT's website on my own. I converted my Excel-file in a Google Spreadsheet-file and put the website and the dictionary online on November 1, 2009 with little more than 500 words. What you can see now under legal German English-Dictionary is my first attempt to put my legal reference book online. I am absolutely aware that neither the vocabulary is mature nor the search function is of any good. However, I am spreading my list to the online world.
Unfortunately, me, myself and I are the only staff I have so far. Therefore, only I am working on the dictionary's vocabulary. That is why I was only able to amend 250 words within one month (November 2009). And trust me, besides my normal job as a corporate lawyer it's a lot of work. I am looking for lawyers, legal English teachers, programmers and other qualified personnel who believe in SLEDICT and its future. Do you want to contribute in any form? Well, feel free to contact me at any time!
You may contact me or gather more information about me on the following websites:
Comparator check of Swiss lawyers: www.anwaltvergleich.ch/anwalt.php?rechtsanwalt=7970
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/saschastocker
My private website stocker-law.ch