Despite the recent shift of emphasis from the source to the target text in translation studies, the demand for equivalence in highly specialized texts cannot be overlooked. This paper focuses on contracts. It argues that even within a communicatively oriented approach, due consideration must be given to the source text. First register and medium of contracts are broached within a communicative framework; then the pragmatic functions of directive, constitutive and commissive acts in contracts are described; and finally the implications for translation are discussed. In the conclusion the author promotes the idea of a ‘prototype’ as a guide for translation without ignoring the importance of notions such as equivalence and adequacy. Giving the example of legal ‘shall’, she advocates the idea of an international consensus. However, this will lead to legal translators finding themselves in a position of conflict, adjusting to international guidelines for translation as opposed to target language conventions.