Abstract
Due to differences in legal systems, it is difficult for a student of legal English to choose English terms that would match the terminology of his/her mother tongue. What is the role of a lecturer teaching legal English? Should he/she provide students with lists of vocabulary to be used in given contexts or should he/she rather show them how to approach common law terminology and choose the most appropriate alternatives that would correspond to the legal institutions of his/her national law? This contribution looks into the possibility of using the comparison of legal systems and their institutions in a language class.