ES-EN legal translators (and lawyers and professors) often require a minimum basic vocabulary in a specific area of law, something that they will be hard pressed to find searching word-by-word in a dictionary. (In this case, the “problem” with dictionaries is that they are in alphabetical order.) Blog entries labeled “Capsule Vocabularies” will feature some of the basic terminology lists developed for use by my students of legal English that I hope may also be of interest to translator and interpreter colleagues and other legal professionals.

Servidumbres (Easements)

Translators dealing with property law texts are sometimes surprised by the number of servidumbres (easements) provided for in the Spanish Civil Code. Here are the major categories of servidumbre and other related vocabulary with their corresponding English translations:

• predio/fundo/heredad dominante─dominant tenement/estate; benefited property
• predio/fundo/heredad sirviente─servient tenement/estate; burdened property
• servidumbre predial─easement that runs with the land
• servidumbre personal─easement in gross
• servidumbre positiva─affirmative easement; positive easement
• servidumbre negativa─negative easement
• servidumbre continua─continuous easement
• servidumbre discontinua─discontinuous easement
• servidumbre aparente─apparent easement
• servidumbre no aparente─nonapparent easement
• servidumbre legal─legal easement; easement created by operation of law
• servidumbre en equidad─equitable easement
• servidumbre voluntaria─easement by express grant; easement by agreement of the parties
• servidumbre adquirida por usucapión─prescriptive easement; easement by prescription; adverse easement
• servidumbre pública─public easement
• servidumbre en materia de agua─water easement; water rights
• servidumbre natural de las aguas─right to natural waterflows
• servidumbre de las márgenes de cauces públicos─riparian water rights; right to use of riverbanks
• servidumbre de camino de sirga─towpath easement
• servidumbre de estribo de presa─dam easement
• servidumbre de parada o partidor─irrigation system easement
• servidumbre de saca de agua─right to draw water; easement to draw water
• servidumbre de acueducto─water conveyance easement
• servidumbre de desagüe─drainage easement
• servidumbre de vertiente de tejados─roof water runoff/drainage easement
• servidumbre de abrevadero─livestock watering easement
• servidumbre de acceso al mar─beach access easement; easement providing access to the sea
• servidumbre de paso─right of way; access easement; easement of passage
• servidumbre de paso permanente─permanent right of way
• servidumbre industrial─utility easement
• servidumbre de paso en beneficio de fincas enclavadas─right of way to landlocked property; landlocked property easement
• servidumbre temporal por obras─temporary construction easement
• servidumbre de paso para ganado─livestock right of way; livestock easement
• servidumbre de descansadero─easement for resting livestock
• servidumbre de majada─easement for overnighting livestock
• servidumbre de pastos─grazing easement
• servidumbre de leña─timber easement; timber rights
• servidumbre de medianería─party wall easement

• servidumbre de luces y vistas─light and air easement

 Source: Rebecca Jowers. Léxico temático de terminología jurídica español-inglés. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2015, pp. 770-772.