History of Legal English

What is Legal English (Legalese)

Legal English is the type of English that is used in legal writing. In general, a legal language is a
formalized language which differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology (word
formation), syntax (grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence), and semantics (word meanings and
their subtle shades of meaning). Legal English differs from ordinary English and has been referred to as a
"sublanguage". Thus, we study legal language as a kind of an area known as ‘Language for Special
Purposes’.

Legal English in the Present Context:

India’s legal system and education are legacies of its colonial past. Legal education was formally
introduced in India in 1857, in three universities – Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. Anyone who learnt
English was eligible to study, qualify and practice law.

Without the basic skills in English, a lawyer who has studied in a vernacular medium can only go so far.
While practicing law in the local language helps certain groups of clients, and the practitioners have to
spend his/her entire career practicing in the lower courts. For judges, knowing English is almost essential.
As India followed the British judicial system to a great extent, the Indian legal lexicon (vocabulary of a
person, language, or branch of knowledge) includes a range of terms in English. However, studying law
in the mother tongue helps students who want to practise law in lower courts and in their native places.
The litigants also benefit as they can follow the proceedings with greater ease.

At the same time, however, it limits the lawyer’s career prospects as litigation in the regional language is
possible only till the district courts. “Practice at the lower level at the mofussil courts, it [in the local
language] can be possible and this could be permissible,” said D Shankar, who teaches at the Tamil Nadu
Dr. Ambedkar Law University. “After that it is not possible.”

There are other challenges as well. While there is an abundance of study material in English – judgments,
analyses and other material – several teachers pointed out that there is a shortage of material in regional
languages. “They [students] refer only to limited material and somehow pass the examination,” said BS
Reddy, principal, RL Law College, Davanagere, Karnataka. “It does not help them in any practice. It is
just examination-oriented, not practice-oriented.” To be a judge in a district court or a sessions court,
knowledge of English is still important because they need to refer to other judgments to follow legal
proceedings.

Significance of Legal English at the Global Level: Legal English will always be your lingua franca to
communicate with your international clients who obviously do not speak your own language. We are
living in the time of Globalisation. A lawyer from one country can represent a client in another country.
Hence, the mindset and approach should be trans-national or global. Almost eighty percent universities of
the world are using English for teaching the law of their land. Similarly, Legislators or constituent
committees are drafting laws and rules in English language so that they can be used and understood
across the globe. In most of the courts, standard legal English is a mixture of English, Latin and French
vocabulary. For illustration, Latin Maxims are frequently used in drafting petitions by lawyers or in
delivering verdicts by juries.
History of Legal English and its Relevance
Why should we study history of legal language?

 It helps speakers understand why certain patterns of words are the way they are, eg- Use of
Doublets and Triplets, Latin words. It also helps to remember them.

 Understand culture and politics of the countries where legal English originated from. This will
further help to understand the law at the global level.

Historical Background

The development of legal English is closely connected with the history of Great Britain. For several
centuries English remained the spoken language of the majority of the population, while almost all
writing was done in French or Latin.

The legal language and legal tradition changed with waves of conquerors over the following centuries.
Roman Britain followed Roman legal tradition, and its legal language was Latin. Following the Norman
invasion of England in 1066, Latin and French became the official language of England. For the period of
nearly 300 years, it was the language of legal proceedings. As a result many words used in modern legal
English are derived from Latin and French.

From 1066, Latin was the language of formal records and statutes. But it was not the language of legal
pleading or debate. The Statute of Pleading, which was enacted in France in 1356, stated that all legal
proceedings should be in English, but recorded in Latin. But that English was not the English that we
speak today. It is known as “Old English” or the “Anglo-Saxon”. Following the Roman departure from
Britain in 410 AD and the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, the dominant tradition was instead Anglo-
Saxon law, which was discussed in the Germanic vernacular (Old English), and written in Old English.

English was adopted for different kinds of legal documents at different times. Wills began to be written in
English in about 1400. Statutes were written in Latin until about 1300, in French until 1485, in English
and French for a few years and in English alone from 1489. According to, Proceedings in the Court of
Justice Act, 1730. Latin was replaced by English. As a result new branches of law such as commercial
law began to be developed entirely in English.

The influence of Latin: However, because only the highly-educated were fluent in Latin, it never became
the language of legal pleading or debate. The influence of Latin can be seen in a number of words and
phrases such as ad hoc (a solution designed for a specific problem or task), de facto (in fact/that is true),
de jure (according to law), bona fide (in good faith), ipso facto (one event is a direct and immediate
consequence of another), and ultra vires (An act that requires legal authority to perform).

The influence of Latin and French is still very much there in legalese and the expressions are integral
parts of legal language. The Latin and French expressions are relevant even today in the Indian Penal
code because of their historical significance, use in older judgments, their preciseness and ability to depict
a detailed legal fact in a crisp phrase,