WAN – Sabîr Ebdulahîzad, a lawyer from Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) who has compiled one thousand 224 legal terms into Kurdish, has launched a new initiative to translate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) into Kurdish.
Originally from Urmiye in Rojhilat, Ebdulahîzad settled in Wan (Van) after being forced into exile due to political repression in Iran. Since then, he has devoted his career to expanding Kurdish legal terminology. His most notable work is the four-language “Ferhenga Têgehên Hiqûqa Navnetewî (International Law Terms Dictionary)”, published in Kurdish, Turkish, Persian, and English after more than three years of research. The dictionary, containing one thousand 224 terms, serves as a reference for students, linguists, and legal researchers.
Ebdulahîzad now continues his work at Association for Legal Research and Education (Komeleya Vekolîn û Perwerdeya Hiqûqê-DADSAZ), where new projects are under development. One initiative, the “Legal Debates Table,” brings together lawyers weekly to discuss legal terms in Kurdish.
‘CONNECTING LAW AND LANGUAGE’
Ebdulahîzad said his passion for Kurdish began in childhood. “I always wanted to connect law and language,” he said and added: “When I studied law, I realized Kurdish lacked the resources to express legal concepts. So I decided to create my own dictionary.”
After leaving Rojhilat, he began compiling international legal terms during his doctoral studies. Ebdulahîzad said: “This work is not just about freeing myself from dominant languages. It provides a resource for Kurdish-speaking researchers who previously lacked materials.”
He described his move to Northern Kurdistan (Bakur) as a turning point: “Coming here gave me both strength and opportunity. It was not just my dream, but the dream of many Kurdish lawyers, to develop a rich Kurdish legal literature.”
AIMING TO ROOT LEGAL TERMINOLOGY IN KURDISH
So far, Ebdulahîzad and his team have compiled one thousand 224 specialized legal terms. Their goal is to standardize and institutionalize Kurdish legal terminology so Kurdish speakers can engage in legal discussions in their mother tongue. He said: “Each term represents an idea. It’s about using the right language to express legal concepts.”
He emphasized that their aim is to make legal terminology part of everyday life, not just an academic field. “Building a legal literature institution is not new, but now we have the conditions to make it real,” he added. “Our dictionary has already become a primary source for Kurdish lawyers.”
To bridge Kurdish legal traditions with modern law, Ebdulahîzad and DADSAZ launched the “Legal Debates Table” project, hosting weekly discussions on selected legal topics. “Our main goal is to develop Kurdish legal education within our own social context,” he noted.
Another major milestone is the translation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights into Kurdish, the first such translation at an international level. “The translation is complete and now in the editorial phase,” he said. “Once published, it will be the first international human rights document available in Kurdish.”
Ebdulahîzad also revealed plans for a training program on international human rights terminology in Kurdish, including certification courses aimed at encouraging Kurdish-language legal defense and debate.
MA / Zeynep Durgut