Characteristics of Legal Language14n[1]

8/9/2019 Characteristics of Legal Language14n[1]

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Linguistic levels Descriptive features Proper use of legal language


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The pronunciation of the Latin legal notions(English pronunciation, classicalpronunciation)

The voice tone in some courts Hypercorrectness in the pronunciation or

notaries’ routine reaing of legal ocuments !orensic phonetics


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"or formation The meaning of comple# $ors, e%g% payable: A bill is payable on Oct. 1 &

The 'ill shoul 'e pai 'y ct% The meaning of some comple# $ors * not

compose of the meaning of their parts+ theimportance of conte#t

nti-uate morphological formations. e%g%This policy witnesseth that…


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Comple# sentences+ complicate syntacticpatterns


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/n it $as there'y further enacte that all an every person anpersons that then $ere or after$ars shoul 'e reconcile to orshall hol communion $ith the see or church of 0ome or shoulprofesse the popish religion or marry a papist shoul 'e e#cluean are 'y that ct mae for ever incapa'le to inherit possess oren1oy the cro$n an government of this realm an 2relan an the

ominions thereunto 'elonging or any part of the same or to haveuse or e#ercise any regall po$er authority or 1urisiction $ithinthe same an in all an every such case an cases the people ofthis realm shall 'e an are there'y a'solve of their allegiancean that the sai cro$n an government shall from time to timeescen to an 'e en1oye the same in case the sai person so

reconcile holing communion professing or marrying as aforesai$ere naturally ea%


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The omission of the e4nite article 'eforethe terms plainti5 or efenant in 1uicialecisions. e%g% It is clear, defendant believedit could comply with the contract by

delivering stewing chicens. !lainti" assertsthat it is e#ually plain that plainti"$s ownsub%ective intent was to obtain broilers andfryers (!rigaliment 2mporting Co% 6% 7%8%9%

2nternational 9ales Corp% :;


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Legal English sometimes follo$s the !renchpattern of the a1ective set 'ehin thenoun. attorney general, court martial

9yntactic structures common for opening inpleaings, e%g% &omes now plainti" for 'erecomes the plainti"


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To e4ne legal=linguistic use >uicial interpretation (e4nitions)


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!ro(y . ) person authori?e to vote forsomeone (@pro#y holer) A) the grant ofvoting authority+ 3)ocument $hich grantsthe shareholer the right to vote

)#uity . ) fairness+ A) a source of Englishla$ proviing alternative legal remeies+ 3)o$nership interest in the company (orinaryshare)+ a share in a limite company


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Obligated * obliged +anrutcy insolvency


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Choice of le#ical units, le#ical 'orro$ings,synonyms, phraseology, etymology

Le#ical units unergo a process of selectionan change in $hich they ac-uire a moreprecise meaning $ithin the special register


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merican phraseology may i5er from the7ritish one. called to the bar * admitted to

practice 7inomials in legal English. -nal and

conclusive, free and clear, last will andtestament, eep and maintain


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Plays a role esp% in the research into legalterminology

search for the original meaning of a legalterm


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Legal analysis * concerne mostly $ithlinguistic units that surpass the sentence oreven a se-uence of sentences

0eaa'ility of te#ts epens on their te#tualstructure. the more e#plicitly the coherenceamong phrases is marBe, the less is therisB of misunerstaning


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9tructure of !rench court ecisions. % rgle gnrale applica'le (ma1eure), A%

cas particulier e l’espce (mineure), 3%application u gnrale au particulier(cision prise, conclusion)


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To minimi?e the risB of polysemy 4rst orientation a'out a concept use in

la$ an can 'e use as a frame$orB for theevelopment of legal argumentation in acase


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Legal terms may have multiple meanings(polysemy)

Therefore, they are often e4ne $ithin aparticular conte#t to avoi mistaBes anmisunerstanings

Legal language * many e4nitions Corpus iuris civilis (Coe, Digest, 2nstitutes,

8ovellae+ the Digest. A; legal e4nitions)


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0eal an terminological 0eal %. concern entities that e#ist in reality in the

physical $orl (e%g% real property) /oods are movable by their nature, or if the law

so determines/ 0es biens sont meubles par leurnature, ou par la d2termination de la loi3

Terminological % only e#ist in legal reality (e%g%an o'ligation)

The 'orerline 'et$een real an terminologicale4nitions * often vague


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E#tension. the class of entities to $hich aterm refers

2ntension. common characteristics of all themeanings of the term)


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!ormulate 'y enumerating the su'=classesthat form the class to 'e e4ne+ this ispossi'le $here the su'=classes are $ell=Bno$n an their num'er is limite


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The de-nitio per genus et di"erentiam The starting point * to inicate the class to

$hich the su'=class to 'e e4ne (species)'elongs

The ne#t step. to sho$ the elements 'yvirtue of $hich the su'=class to 'e e4nei5ers from the other su'=classes incluein the class

Legal system * 'ase on classi4cations


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5)A6I6 O7 4'O89)/ A6 4'O89) A6!;)5I9)9/, A6 Aontally into ?atsor maisonettes@ and


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0a3 where a building is divided hori>ontally@the ?ats or other units into which it is sodivided are not separate 4houses/, thoughthe building as a whole may be@ and

0b3 where a building is divided vertically thebuilding as a whole is not a 4house/ thoughany of the units into which it is divided maybe…. 0p. B3


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Principal terms in international treaties *often e4ne in treaties themsleves+ legalinstitutions i5er from one country toanother+

interpreters of a treaty form a heterogenousauience characterise 'y linguisticpluralism


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/!or the purposes of this Convention (F) (') a trustee shallnot 'e regare as an agent of the trust, of the person $hohas create the trust, or of the 'ene4ciaries (u# 4ns e laprsente Convention (F) (') le trustee n’est pas consircomme un intermiaire agissant pour le compte u trust,

u constituant ou u 'n4ciaire) (the 0'ague3 &onventionon the aw Applicable to Agency3 = the institution of trust. traitionally unBno$n in

continental Europe it $as necessary to e4ne theconnection 'et$een trust an the Convention


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Eisen'ahn is /ein Gnternehmen, gerichtet auf $ieerholte!ort'e$egung von Personen oer 9achen 'er nicht gan?un'eeutene 0aumstrecBen auf metallener Irunlage, $elcheurch ihre Jonsisten?, JonstruBtion un IlKtte en Transport grosserIe$ichtsmassen 'e?iehungs$eise ie Er?ielung einerverhKltnismKssig 'eeutenen 9chnelligBeit er Transport'e$egung

?u ermglichen 'estimmt ist, un urch iese Eigenart in6er'inung mit en ausserem ?ur Er?eugung er

Transport'e$egung 'enut?ten 8aturBrKften (Dampf, EleBtri?itKt,tierischer oer menschlicher MusBeltKtigBeit, 'ei geneigter E'eneer 7ahn auch schon er eigenen 9ch$ere er TransportgefKsse uneren Laung, us$%) 'ei em 7etrie' es Gnternehmens auf

ersel'en eine verhKltnismKssig ge$altige (1e nach en GmstKnennur in 'e?$ecBter "eise nt?liche oer Menschenle'envernichtene un ie menschliche Iesunheit verlet?ene)$ircBung ?u er?eugen fKhig ist% (0IN& 0eichsgericht in Nivilsachen2, AO) (p% ;:)


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7acBgroun of this 1ugment. a la$ aoptein O $hich impose strict lia'ility onrail$ay companies for risB create

La$yers for the rail$ay companies

attempte 'y all means to limit the notionof rail$ay in orer to avoi strict lia'ility


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Commercial contracts an $ills ra$n 'ycommon=la$ la$yers often incluee4nitions


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0T2CLE 8E DE!282T289 /7ene4ciary means the recipient of a 'e-uest

mae 'y this "ill%

/7e-uest means a gift mae 'y this "ill% /My chilren means my aughter 0E7ECC

9G98 "E299, 'orn >anuary A, :OM my sonCH029TPHE0 "E299, 'orn >une Q, ::


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itional pro'lems. Bno$ing to $hate#tent a legislative e4nition is conitionalon the la$ in -uestion still remaining inforce in unchange form

The concept e#presse 'y the e4nitionmay have 'een essentially 'roaene ornarro$e 'y case la$ or 'y legal science


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Enumerative lists often raise the pro'lem ofBno$ing if they are e#haustive or merelye#planatory


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u sens u prsent titre, on enten par. Matrielse 'ase, gnrateurs es matriels forestiers ereprouction+=les peuplements, notamment lesvergers R graines, pour les matriels e

reprouction gnrative+ les clones et lesmlanges e clones en proportions spci4espour les matriels e multiplication vgtative+Matriels forestiers e reprouction. = lessemences. cSnes, infrutescences, fruits et

graines, estins R la prouction e plantes parvoie gnrative+ (F)(&ode forestier ) p% O


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Precision 2nformation (over)loa Gniversality an aloofness 9ystemic character 9tructure an !ormalism 2nitialisations an cronyms rchaism an solemnity


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ccuracy an precision * funamentalcharacteristics of legal language

0esult from the re-uirement for legalprotection an legal certainty

To avoi the possi'ility of ar'itrariness,legal rules shoul 'e formulate $ithoutam'iguity


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2n a emocratic state, linguistic clarity * a'solute norm oflegislation

Dictatorships * sometimes also prefer clear language+ho$ever, they can move over to a form of language that isintentionally unclear, if it serves their interests

2n international relations, linguistic am'iguity may 'e aconscious choice in some negotiating situations (e%g%negotiators can leave e-uivocal an article in a treaty on$hich they have not reache agreement+ this allo$s theparties later to maBe a /corrior compromise $ithout

enangering the entry into force of the treaty


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"ritten form * necessary for accuracy ral legal Bno$lege * uncertain an

changea'le rchaic la$. summary character * concrete

situations, presente in rhythmical form formnemonic reasons


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Moern, comple# society * enormousnum'er of legal rules

Legal language shoul 'e as concise aspossi'le to avoi la$s an regulations that

$oul other$ise 'e over=long an unclear t the same time, legal language shoul

avoi over=a'straction to ena'le ecoing$ith minumum e5ort


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ften * mathematical formulas relating tothe calculation of some $elfare allo$anceor a ta# to 'e pai

9ocial an 4scal la$s shoul 'e $ritten very

compactly, $ith as high a ensity ofinformation as possi'le, to prevent their'ecoming over=long


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The legislator oes not suppose that la$s ofa technical character are unerstana'le tothe general pu'lic

9uch la$s * communicate to citi?ens 'y

means of short=form 'ulletins, leaving outthe etails


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2n many civil=la$ countries * the language of 1ugments * overloae $ith messages+appearance of a'rige coes

Toay * 1ugments closer to orinary

language+ ho$ever, 'ecause of this, 1ugments have 'ecome too long an theirinternal logic is $eaBene+ a 1ugmentformulate in orinary language contains

more seconary elements, impeing thetransmission of the legal message, than atraitional compact 1ugment


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Moern la$=a'stract character+ regulatesentities that are mental creations. rights ano'ligations+ in 9$eish legislation. only Q=U ver'al su'stantives refer to entities that

e#ist in time an space La$ * 'ase on e#perience ra$n from the

real $orl 'ut it regulates hypotheticalfuture cases+ timespan linBe to legal rules *

often characterise 'y universality,impossi'le to see from the chronologicalstanpoint. /timelessness of la$


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6er's. conitional is common, $hile thepresent tense ominates

Private ocuments. parties have to preparefor possi'le change of circumstances+ to

some e#tent, the clauses have to allo$ forhypothetical situations


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!re-uent use of passive. 'rings the o'1ect ofthe action into the foregroun, giving theactor only a seconary role

Even $hen actors are in the foregroun,

iniviuals are pushe into the 'acBgroun'y personi4cation of authorities ancorporations. e%g% the ministry orders 0…3,the court -nds0…3


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ctors to o not appear uner their privatenames 'ut are calle 'y their titles orfunctions. director, president , etc

Private persons =name accoring to their

roles. applicant, appellant, defendant vocates seeB to len their arguments an

appearance of o'1ectivity to maBe themcrei'le an convincing (e%g% /It appears that

Article CD of the law on %udicial recordsshould be interpreted so that (F)+ not. /Itseems to me…)


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Legal style. col. re1ects all that is a5ectivean oes not inclue emotional elements

Legal te#ts. no e#clamation or -uestionmarBs

8eutrality of legal language * guarantee 'ythe fact that many legal te#ts (la$s,aministrative instructions, on the Continentalso 1ugments) pass through the oVces of

several commentators an stylists 'eforereceiving their 4nal form. they are not from asingle han


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Legal language * characterise 'y /?erostyle+ ho$ever. avocates’ closingspeeches are often a5ective

9o'riety of legal language * visi'le in

legislative te#ts+ e#ceptions. pream'les tola$s, $hose style is often full of pathos anemotion


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2mportant aspect of neutrality. esignationsof legal institutions an phenomena+ thelegislator iscars e#pressions that might'e felt to 'e insulting

2n !inlan. a 1uge shoul e#press himselfin a calm an compose $ay+ nglo=merican 1uges * a far greater freeom


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Dissenting opinion of 1uge Musmanno, ofthe Pennsylvania 9upreme Court, in the caserelating to Henry Miller’s /Tropic of Cancer.

4&ancer/ is not a boo. It is a cesspool, and

open sewer, a pit of putri-cation, a slimygathering of all that is rotten in the debris ofhuman depravity. And in the center of all thiswaste and stench, besmearing himself with

its foulest de-lement, splashes, leaps, cavotsand wallows a bifurcated specimen thatresponds to the name of 'enry 5iller…


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a 4gure of speech that escri'es a su'1ect 'yasserting that it is, on some point of comparison,the same as another other$ise unrelate o'1ect%

a type of analogy an is closely relate to other

rhetorical 4gures of speech that achieve theire5ects via association, comparison orresem'lance

All the worldEs a stage, And all the men and women merely players+They have their e(its and their entrances+


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2n contrast to meieval times, moern legallanguage is neutral+ no longer 4gurative

nly a fe$ moest traces remain of thecolourful legal language of the past, mostly in

the form of legal ma#ims 2n moern legal language, metaphors are rare Metaphors. common in solemn speeches on

the notion of la$, its funamental principles,

etc% Metaphors e%g% /lanscape of legal culture


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9ome legal terms originate from metaphors Metaphor. useful linguistic means involving

sth ne$ that has to 'e name+ 'rings outfeatures analogical to the ne$ an the ol+

thanBs to a metaphor, it is possi'le toescri'e the functions an structure of aphenomenon, $ithout e4ning it in etail+ena'les e#pression of a process or state

$ithout inventing a ne$ term, $hich al$aysre-uires a Wrunning in’ perio% (e%g% virus asa computer term)


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/'uren of proof (0oman la$. onus probandi. cal-ues all over Europe. oneredella prova, carga de la prueba, charge dela preuve, +eweistlast , bevisbFrda,

9ource of law


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2talian authors often use images thate#press com'at (difesa, combattimento), orthought process (Il percorso argomentativoseguito, itinerario di ricostru>ione)


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vocates. metaphors appealing to thesentiments of listeners.

lion$s partnership (Lat% societas leonina),lion$s share (Lat% pars leonina) * e#amples

that go 'acB to esop’s fa'les% vocates in the 0omance countries use

these images fairly often+ at one time, this$as also true of the 8oric countries


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Matthias Calonius, author of !inno=9$eish legalscience at the turn of the :th c%. W8atural la$oes not accept a contract accoring to $hichone party o'tains all pro4t an the other party'ears all loss, or accoring to $hich there accruesto one party a greater part of the pro4t or lossthan that corresponing to their input into thecompany% 9uch a company is terme a lion’spartnership after the famous fa'le 'y esopF

Toay. /ine-uita'le share


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Legal orer * systemic character. eachelement forms part of a greater $hole

n article forms part of a la$, an a la$forms part of legislation%

2n civil=la$ countries, preceentscomplement legislation+ in common=la$countries they are of funamentalimportance+ legal science * also important+

result. each element shoul 'e in harmony$ith the entirety of the legal orer


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9ystemic character * highlighte $hen ane$ la$ is aopte or an ol one reforme+this is reXecte in a great num'er of la$san regulations that inclue articles in

irect contraiction or other$ise in iscor$ith a ne$ or reforme la$+ ispositions ofthose other la$s an regulations nee to 'emoi4e


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9ystemic character of the legal orer %Components of the orer linBe to oneanother 'y references. interte#tuality

given that la$ relies on authorities (e%g% the

legislator, the courts), a legal te#t has aepenent relationship $ith other te#ts+ anarticle of the la$ refers to other articles ofthe same la$ or to other legislative te#ts, a

1uicial ecision refers to la$s, a legalte#t'ooB or treatise refers to la$s, etc%


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0eferences * hori?ontal ('et$een t$o la$s)or vertical (from a ecree to a la$, from a

1uicial ecision to a ecree) !re-uency of references =inXuence 'y

traitions of a legal culture


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The Ierman Coe = coi4cation intene foruse 'y professional 1uges, aiming to give theans$er to every legal pro'lem+ contains a verylarge num'er of references

9$iss Civil Coe = 2ntene for all citi?ens+inclues fe$ references Common la$ countries. 1uges refer to

preceents an less to other sources of la$ "hen a highly technical 'ranch of la$ is involve,

many references are use (e%g% lan la$, $aterrights, 4nance, $elfare)


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% in reinforcing the systemic iea of the legalorer, references are appropriate foreliminating internal contraictions

A% 0eferences sho$ the $ier conte#ts to

$hich the i5erent elements of the legalorer 'elong+ informative anmnemotechnical function% reference sho$sthat another legal te#t e#ists that linBs to the

issue involve 3% 0eferences eliminate repetitions, the te#t

'ecomes lighter an more economical


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0eferences can lea to severalinterpretations

They can 'ecome am'iguous follo$ingchanges to the te#ts to $hich they refer

ccasionally. voi references. the referenceinicates a repeale legislative te#t or onestill at the preparatory stage that is neverpromulgate


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Too many references maBe a te#t iVcult ounerstan, potentially causing mistaBesan misunerstanings+ a legal te#t'ecomes a /hyperte#t $eighe o$n $ith

a large num'er of references maBing thereaer lose the threa of the ocument+such a te#t saves space 'ut is very iVcultfrom the reaer’s stan=point


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/ person $ho fails to maBe a eclaration, or $hooes not maBe it in a correct or complete manner, orin ue time, contrary to paragraph A of rt% ,paragraph of rt% A;, rt% AO, Paragraph or A ofrt A, paragraph or A of rt% A a, paragraph A of

rt% 3 paragraph or A of rt% 3 or paragraph A,3or of rt% A, or $ho fails to attach the itemsprescri'e 'y la$ to the eclaration, contrary toparagraph A of rt% A;, paragraph A of rt% 3,paragraph A of rt% 3 or paragraph 3 or of rt% A,contravenes the la$ (ecree implementing la$ on4rearms, rt 3, p% ) Ierman legislation on 4rearms


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Te#t to $hich a particular reference refers maynot 'e easily availa'le+ in criminal la$. if penallegislation refers to te#ts 'eyon the scope ofcriminal la$s as to escription of elementsconstituting the o5ences in -uestion, somespecialists consier that the principle of legality isuner threat

0eferences shoul not 'e use $here the legalorer risBs 'ecoming less transparent as a result+

$hen use, their o'1ect an content shoul 'especi4e $ith enough accuracy


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Terms shoul 'e use as logically anconsistently as possi'le in all legal conte#ts

Linguistic cohesion 2n i5erent la$s, the same terms o'tain the

same content as far as possi'le


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Logical isposition helps to place legalinformation in a hierarchy

Legal te#t moves from the a'stract to theconcrete, from the su'stantive to the

proceural 9tructure of the te#t shoul 'e consistent.

the principal items presente 'eforeseconary items, general rules 'efore

special conitions an e#ceptions


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Legal te#ts. many reay=mae sentencesan petri4e phrases


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La$s an regulations = ivie into smallersections, in a logical orer (e%g% a'stract *concrete, su'stantive * proceural)

Coes = complicate ivisions (e%g% 7ra?ilian

Civil Coe. ivision into or : graations.part, 'ooB, title, chapter, section, article,paragraph, su'=paragraph, inent


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Logical structure of a coe informs thereaer a'out hierarchies of legal conceptsan terms e#pressing those concepts

ThanBs to such a structure, it is easy for a

la$yer or translator to 4n in a coe theterms they are looBing for an to esta'lishthe conte#ts in $hich these terms are use


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2n countries lacBing ma1or coi4cations, la$s anregulations often systematise in semi=oVcial or privatecompilations to facilitate the application of legislation

!inlan. a large, t$o=volume compilation of legislation isregularly pu'lishe in !innish an 9$eish

The structure of these compilations may vary $ithin thesame country an may easily change over time ne shoul 'e cautious in ra$ing any conclusions on the

4el of usage of terms, 'y virtue of the construction ofthese compilations


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!ormulas + over half of !innish civil servantsstate that they follo$ moels of te#tsrafte in avance

2n e#treme cases, a moel form provies an

a'solute paragon for an oral or $ritten te#t.in civil=la$ countries % 9uch cases are to 'efoun in 1uicial language an privateocuments


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2n archaic la$, formalism $as heightene 'ymagical functions of the la$+

"ith the help of language rituals, the MostHigh $as invite to the 1uicial process an

His $ill coul 'e interprete Magical repetition * still reXecte toay in

the formulas of the oath


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vantages. ) legal protection an certainty of proceures

re-uire repetitive moels of action in theapplication of the la$+ stanarise $ors anphrases have an esta'lishe interpretation

2nterte#tual character of legal language Legal reasoning. largely 'ase on the authority

value of sources use la$yer copies a reay=to=use form from a

collection of moel ocuments or from a contractthat he has previously rafte


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3) the use of a moel means that the ocument isstructure an arrange at 'oth paragraph an sentencelevel

moel form arranges an composes the te#t of aocument clearly an systematically

9tanarises the use of $ors an prevents the ocumentfrom 'ecoming too long. economy of legal language 9aving time. self=rafting a 1ugment or a contract $oul

taBe a lot of time an $oul re-uire vast Bno$lege Easier to archive an retrieve 'y computerise means


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Legal forms = more or less 4#e or Xe#i'le ften use in performative language acts,

'ut also appear in other conte#ts form only appears as an invaria'le unit

$ithin the genre of the te#t in -uestion Moel forms. linguistic petri4cations+

synta# of legal forms = often archaicfeatures


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2n DenmarB all 1ugments contain thearchaic e#pression thi endes for ret (Wit istherefore consiere 1ust’ * solemnlyinforms the reaer that the te#t continues

as the operative part of the 1ugment


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2n common la$ 1ugments, 1uges asiniviuals are visi'le. their grouns are fullan etaile, their language often colourful+true also of issenting opinions+ the position

taBen 'y the court e#presse 'y the /$eform, an that of the 1uges as iniviuals'y the /2 form+ a 1uge may even openlyamit to having mae an error. e%g% opening

speech of Lor 9teyn (Morgans v Director ofPu'lic Prosecutions).


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/My Lors, in giving the 1ugment of the Court of ppeal(Criminal Division) in 0 v EVB (::A) :Q Cr pp 0 AO 2gave a restrictive interpretation to s : of the 2nterception ofCommu1nications ct :Q, 'y holing that it contains noprovision maBing clear that any evience o'traine as aresult of an interception $ill 'e inamissi'le% Eight years

later, aie 'y the incisive arguments of counselo in thepresent case, 2 have ha the opportunity to re=e#amine thepoint% 2 am no$ fu1lly persuae that my earlierinterpretation $as $rong% n 2 agree $ith the speech ofLor Hope of Craighea% 7ut it is appropriate, if only for the

historical recor, that 2 e#plain shortly the reasons for myconversionF


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2n Iermany, grouns of a 1ugment 'aseon positions taBen 'y legal science+

these grouns regularly cite 'ooBs anarticles 'y acaemic la$yers+

Ierman 1uges $rite their grouns asscienti4c essays, $hich allo$s a ialogue$ith legal science+

fre-uent references to legal scholars


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2n !rance, 1ugments are conense into a4#e formula in $hich the grouns aresuccinct an formal+

no issenting opinions+

a !rench 1ugment consists of a singlesentence structure 'y /Bey=$ors, $hichvary 'et$een courts. attendu #ue (Court ofCassation, i%e% the 9upreme Court an

general courts of 4rst instance, $hileaministrative courts an some courts ofappeal use the e#pression consid2rant #ue


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Legal provisions referre to are precee 'ythe $or vu, an the operative part of the 1ugment al$ays 'egins $ith the $ors P0CE9 MT2!9 ($ritten in 'locB capitals)

2n :OO, a ne$ style $as put into practice. thefacts, the evelopment of the proceeings, anthe claims of the parties * presente iniscursive form * not generally accepte

nly the grouns an the operative part of the 1ugment * ra$n up in a single sentence


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>ugments in !rance * ra$n up much moreformally than in Iermany or the commonla$ countries

6otes of English an merican higher courts

are $ritten iniviually, often highlypersonally+ recently = reuctions ini5erences of style of 1ugments,

EG. i5erent legal traitions mingle


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Language of moel forms of privateocuments * traitionally as complicatean em'ellishe as that of 1ugments another oVcial ocuments

9olemnity of forms * still visi'le toay Long sentences


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English. forms for $ills * complicate, oftenrunning to several printe pages

92I8ED, 9ELED, PG7L29HED 8DDECL0ED 'y the a'ove=name person as

an for a Last "ill an Testament, an $ei, in his presence, hereunto su'scri'e ournames as $itnesses thereto


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2n common=la$ countries increasingattention has 'een pai to clarifying theforms of private ocuments

n merican la$yer, Thomas 9% "or >r,

propose forms for ra$ing up a $ill inunerstana'le language = the plain=language $ill


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2, >ohn Yuincy Doe, no$ resiing in the city of0ichmon, 9tate of 6irginia, 'eing of sounmin an memory, o here'y maBe, pu'lishan eclare this to 'e my last $ill an

testament, here'y revoBing, annulling ancanceling any an all $ills an coicilsheretofore mae 'y me (original $ill)

0evise $ill.

2, >ohn Yuincy Doe, of 0ichmon, 6irginia,maBe this $ill, an revoBe all earlier $ills ancoicils


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Gnser Testament % 2ch,%% (8ame, 6orname, nschrift) set?e

meine Ehefrau%%(8ame, 6orname,Ie'urtsname, nschrift) ?ur HKlfte un

unsere Jiner auf ie anere HKlfte es8achlasses einF A% 2ch,F(8ame, 6orname, Ie'urtsname,

nschrift) set?e meinen EhemannF(8ame,

6orname, nschrift) ?ur ?ur HKlfte un unsereJiner auf ie anere HKlfte es 8achlasseseinF


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La$yers rely on authoritative te#ts. e%g% acourt orer is groune 'y referring to a la$or regulation, to a 1uicial ecision, to alegal treatise, etc

Legal language. rich in argumentation.assertions are groune in etail

The same sources continually repeate


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Vcial title of a la$, a pu'lication, or anoVce can 'e long an complicate 2e%g%;eceueil de %urisprudence du droitadministratif et du &onseil d$)tat )

The use of initialisation (0>D) facilitatesreferences to various te#ts

9pace=saving


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8ot al$ays easy to Bno$ $hat language lies'ehin an initialisation+ in smaller linguistic?ones, the initials of internationalinstitutions (8T, "T) can result from

their titles in English although the completeforms are normally e#presse in nationallanguages


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The manner of constructing initialisations *not uniform+ sometimes, the 4rst letter ofeach $or inclue, 'ut often several $orsare omitte+ recently. acronyms have

'ecome common in various countries+ toena'le pronunciation these inclue not onlythe 4rst letters 'ut often aitional letters,$hich maBes ecoing still more iVcult


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The culture of initialisations= not uniformamongst la$yers even from the samecountry+ many initalisations %

nly Bno$n 'y la$yers of a particular

'ranch of the la$, even from a particularcourt or government oVce


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''reviations shortening Latin $ors+ e%g%i'% or i'i% & i'iem, Win the same $orB’ 9ym'ols versus Z (!inlan)+ counterclaim. #


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The legislator seeBs to ensure respect forlegal rules, nota'ly 'y linguistic means.solemnity

The entry into force of a constitution *

performe 'y a formula full of ignity


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La 8aci[n espa\ola, eseano esta'lecer la 1usticia, la li'erta y la seguria ypromover el 'ien e cuantos la integran, enuso e su so'eran]a, proclama su volunta

e. Iaranti?ar la convivencia emocr^tica

entro e la Constituci[n y e las leyesconforme a un oren econ[mico y social

1usto% (F)


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close connection 'et$een the gravity of ate#t an its archaic character !orms of 1ugment an of private

ocuments * many repetitions an o'solete

$ors of comman (imperatives)+ inversion* typical of legal an aministrativelanguage


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rchaic character of legal language. ) conservatism of la$yers A) translation 3) long legal traition


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Many characteristics of legal language canresult in o'scurity (initialisations,a''reviations, archaisms, /noun sicBness


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>ustinian * the ne$ coe shoul 'e laconic anunerstana'le+ the raftsmen $ere to /puttogether accurate la$s ra$n up in conciselanguage (certas et brevi sermone conscriptas…leges componere)

Allgemeines andrecht fur die preussischen9taaten (O:) * clarity of language+ avoisloan$ors+ a moel for later coi4cations inustria, Iermany an 9$it?erlan

Catherine 22 * instruction that ne$ la$s $ere to'e ra$n up in simple language, using $ors thateveryone coul unerstan


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!orce of traition Ensuring the authority of 1ustice 0e-uirement of legal protection Comple#ity of society


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9entences longer an more comple# than inother L9Ps+ legal language * forme for over t$o

millenia


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Legal language * an instrument of thee#ercise of po$er reinforcing the authorityof 1uges an government oVcials


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9ociety * increasingly comple# 8ees highly specialise system of legal

rules, $hich re-uires many ne$ legal terms nly some of these rules are aime to 'e

applie to every citi?en+ $ritten for la$yers return to the past. in the ays $hen legal

Latin $as the ominant legal language,legal te#ts $ere only intene for social

elites


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The legislator often regulates technicalmatters from other 4els through legallanguage+ result. an accumulation ofo'scurity. the language of the la$, that of

technolotgy, commerce, etc% intermingle(e%g% EG te#ts)


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Language specialists can only help to correctsome efects of legal language. heavy sentencestructures, useless repetitions an a''reviations,archaisms, over=learne $ors, etc%

The 'asic iVculty * in legal language $ors of

orinary language often have a technicalmeaning hien 'ehin an apparently cleare#pression. illusory comprehension * moreangerous than the situation $here the reaer

reali?es that he oes not unerstan the te#t


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Plain English Movement Lor "oolf’s ;eport on Access to


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correct unerstaning of terms *impossi'le $ithout su'stantive Bno$legeof the su'1ect involve

Legal terms often lacB transparency


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9houl start $ith la$s an regulations % Thelanguage use 'y the legislator is passe onto the courts an government oVces


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% a la$ shoul 'e concise A% Legislative language shoul respect rules

of grammar (correctness) 3% 2t shoul use terminology consistently

(precision) % 2t shoul avoi am'iguity (clarity) Q% La$s shoul 'e formulate in a logical

$ay, an the reasoning shoul 'e coherent


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part from improving legislative language,only recommenations an training caninXuence the language of courts, given theinepenence of the 1uiciary

E5orts shoul 'e irecte to$ars thehigher courts, since inferior courts follo$the language moel that the former create


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Continuous training of 1uges angovernment oVcials Ministries, courts, government oVces

shoul have enough sta5 to ra$ up la$s

an raft legal ocuments Pressure of $orB * one of the main threats

to high=-uality legal language


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Linguistic pluralism EG ocuments * result of translation (often

heavy an arti4cial)


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Iuielines for the -uality of rafting of EGlegislation.

Characteristics of Legal Language14n[1]

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