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Abstract Chinese law in the modern sense originated from the translation activities in the late Qing Dynasty. Influenced by the laws of other countries for more than a hundred years, it gradually formed its own conceptual system after integrating foreign legal concepts and terms with those of local cultures. Therefore，the origins of a considerable number of contemporary Chinese legal terms are complex characterized by a mixture of foreign borrowings and domestic products. By tracing and exploring the historical development of Chinese legal terms with unique Chinese characteristics，this article examines the difficulties involved in the English translation of such legal terms and argues that translators need to strive for a harmonious integration of both foreign and local concepts and ideas to produce English translations of legal terms with unique Chinese characteristics. Some of the difficulties in the translation of legal terms have resulted from a lack of understanding of discourse construction on the part of China’ s legislatures when they first decided on the legal terms used. Nevertheless，translators should make sensible translation choices. This article holds that in English translation of legal terms with Chinese characteristics, translators must pay special attention to the target readers. There is no need for translators to adhere to the old norms，but new norms must be constructed based on sound values. In the context of sharing China stories on laws via effective communication，translators should enhance their consciousness of discourse construction and be guided by the idea of communicating Chinese characteristics internationally, so that the current positive value of translation can be presented in a better way.
Key words: legal terms with Chinese characteristics; translation of legal terms; translation norms; value-based decisions
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