100 legal terms in Spanish: Complete list and their meanings in English

Legal terms in Spanish—list and meanings in English

Below is a curated list of frequently used terms, organized by practice area. Each entry shows the Spanish term followed by its English equivalent or closest concept.

Contracts and obligations

• Contrato → Contract
  Incumplimiento (de contrato) → Breach (of contract)
  
  
• Contraprestación → Consideration (common-law element)
  
  
• Fuerza mayor → Force majeure / Act of God
  
  
• Cláusula penal → Liquidated damages clause (≠ unlawful penalty)
  
  
• Buena fe → Good faith
  
  
• Resolución / Terminación → Termination / Rescission (retroactive annulment)
  
  
• Modificación contractual → Amendment
  
  
• Cesión de contrato → Assignment (of contract)
  
  
• Novación → Novation
  
  
• Cláusula de exención / limitación de responsabilidad → Disclaimer / Limitation of liability clause
  
  
• Vicios ocultos → Latent defects
  
  
• Garantía → Warranty
  
  
• Indemnización → Indemnity
  
  
• Condición resolutoria → Condition subsequent
  
  
• Condición suspensiva → Condition precedent
  
  
• Contrato marco → Master agreement
  
  
• Acuerdo de confidencialidad (NDA) → Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
  
  
• Cláusula de no competencia → Non-compete clause
  
  
• Cláusula de no captación (de clientes o empleados) → Non-solicitation clause
  
  

Civil procedure

• Demanda / Escrito de demanda → Complaint / Claim / Statement of claim (jurisdiction-dependent)
  
  
• Demandante / Actor → Plaintiff / Claimant (UK)
  
  
• Demandado → Defendant
  
  
• Actuaciones / Diligencias → Proceedings
  
  
• Prueba → Evidence
  
  
• Prueba pericial → Expert evidence
  
  
• Prueba indiciaria → Circumstantial evidence
  
  
• Medidas cautelares → Interim measures / Preliminary injunction
  
  
• Auto / Providencia / Orden → Order
  
  
• Sentencia → Judgment
  
  
• Carga de la prueba → Burden of proof
  
  
• Apelación / Recurso de apelación → Appeal
  
  
• Desestimación / Sobreseimiento → Dismissal
  
  
• Costas procesales / Honorarios de abogado → Costs (UK) / Attorney’s fees (if recoverable)
  
  
• Litigio / Litigación → Litigation
  
  
• Transacción / Acuerdo → Settlement
  
  
• Competencia / Jurisdicción → Jurisdiction
  
  
• Vista / Comparecencia → Hearing / Appearance
  
  
• Ejecución de sentencia → Enforcement of judgment
  
  
• Cosa juzgada → Res judicata
  
  

Criminal law

• Delito → Crime / Offense
  
  
• Delito grave → Felony
  
  
• Delito menor / Delito leve → Misdemeanor (US)
  
  
• Detención / Arresto → Arrest / Detention (context-dependent)
  
  
• Debido proceso → Due process
  
  
• Conformidad / Acuerdo de culpabilidad → Plea bargain (US)
  
  
• Non bis in idem → Double jeopardy
  
  
• Cohecho → Bribery
  
  
• Allanamiento (con fuerza) / Robo con fuerza → Burglary (criminal trespass may apply contextually)
  
  
• Lesiones → Battery
  
  
• Amenazas / Agresión → Assault
  
  
• Cadena de custodia → Chain of custody
  
  
• Libertad bajo fianza → Release on bail
  
  
• Orden de alejamiento → Restraining order / Stay-away order
  
  
• Reincidente → Repeat offender
  
  
• Tentativa → Attempt
  
  
• Homicidio imprudente → Manslaughter / Negligent homicide
  
  
• Falso testimonio → Perjury
  
  
• Hurto → Theft
  
  
• Robo con violencia o intimidación → Robbery
  
  

Commercial and corporate

• Sociedad anónima (S.A.) → Corporation / Public limited company (PLC)
  
  
• Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (S.L.) → Limited liability company (LLC) / Private limited company (Ltd)
  
  
• Accionista → Shareholder
  
  
• Consejo de administración → Board of directors
  
  
• Junta general → General meeting / Shareholders’ meeting
  
  
• Estatutos sociales → Articles of association / Bylaws
  
  
• Diligencia debida → Due diligence
  
  
• Fusión → Merger
  
  
• Escisión / Spin-off → Spin-off / Demerger (UK)
  
  
• Administrador / Director → Director (UK) / Manager (role-dependent)
  
  
• Capital social → Share capital
  
  
• Dividendos → Dividends
  
  
• Oferta pública de adquisición (OPA) → Takeover bid / Tender offer
  
  
• Insolvencia / Quiebra (US: Bankruptcy) → Insolvency / Bankruptcy
  
  
• Concurso de acreedores → Insolvency / Bankruptcy proceedings
  
  
• Acreedor → Creditor
  
  
• Deudor → Debtor
  
  
• Garantía real → Security interest
  
  
• Pacto de socios → Shareholders’ agreement
  
  
• Gobierno corporativo → Corporate governance
  
  

Labor and employment

• Contrato de trabajo → Employment contract
  
  
• Despido → Dismissal (UK) / Termination (US)
  
  
• Despido improcedente → Unfair dismissal (UK) / Wrongful termination (US)
  
  
• Indemnización por despido → Severance pay
  
  
• Convenio colectivo → Collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
  
  
• Jornada laboral → Working hours
  
  
• Salario / Retribución → Salary / Wages
  
  
• Prevención de riesgos laborales → Occupational health and safety (OHS)
  
  
• Acoso laboral → Workplace harassment
  
  
• Comité de empresa → Works council
  
  

Administrative and constitutional

• Acto administrativo → Administrative act / Decision
  
  
• Recurso administrativo → Administrative appeal
  
  
• Silencio administrativo → Administrative silence / Failure to respond
  
  
• Derecho de petición → Right to petition
  
  
• Amparo → Writ of amparo / Constitutional relief
  
  
• Control judicial / Contencioso-administrativo → Judicial review / Administrative litigation
  
  
• Potestad sancionadora → Sanctioning power
  
  
• Acceso a la información pública → Freedom of Information (FOI)
  
  
• Inhabilitación → Disqualification
  
  
• Competencia territorial / Fuero → Venue / Territorial jurisdiction
  
  

Resources to improve your command of legal terms in Spanish

Building fluency in Spanish legal terminology takes consistent practice and the right tools. The following resources can accelerate your progress and improve accuracy when drafting or reviewing bilingual documents.

Specialized dictionaries and glossaries

High-quality reference works are indispensable:

• Black’s Law Dictionary: Authoritative definitions of legal terms in English to clarify meaning and usage.
  
  
• International law / bilingual glossaries: Multilingual resources that map Spanish terms to their closest English concepts and explain context.
  
  

Beyond translation, these sources help you understand how a term operates procedurally or substantively—crucial for avoiding misinterpretation.

Learning platforms and online courses

Targeted courses in legal Spanish (and comparative law) provide structured practice by subject area—contracts, civil procedure, criminal law, and corporate law. Enrolling in these programs builds vocabulary while strengthening practical skills for interpreting and drafting Spanish-language instruments used in international work.

To operate effectively in bilingual or cross-border matters, you need both vocabulary and context. Use this list as a working companion, and keep expanding it with terms specific to your practice.

We hope this list of the top has been useful and will help 100 legal terms in Spanish and their meanings in English ou improve your understanding and fluency in the legal field.
We invite you to explore the rest of our website, where you will find more resources, guides, and tools to expand your legal knowledge and improve your professional practice. Thank you for joining us!