SCOPE

OF LEGAL LANGUAGE
ARUNA KAMMILA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DSNLU
• Compared with science, technology and medicine
legal education is less technical
• Persian language
• After 1826 English replaced Persian
• Initially only rules and regulations but no principles
of law were taught
• 1885 in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras law classes
were a permanent feature
• 1857 Law studies was declared as a permanent part
of each University.
• Many prominent persons started their career as
Mukhtars.
Meaning
• Language that is used by the persons engaged in legal
profession.
• Law is technical subject like any other subject
• Legal language is not merely a language the adjective
‘legal’ shows that it is a specific language different
from a normal language and its interpretation is
carried out by this specific language.
• E.g. constitutional language is a part of the legal
language, moreover it is the foundation by which the
laws obtain their statutory status.
Critical Value of law and legal language

• In democracy every citizen need to know his

rights and duties.
• To understand the rights
• To defend those who are unaware.
• Used as a vehicle of persuasion.
SCOPE
• Different people fall under the ambit of legal
language
• Some are compulsorily legal experts and some
are not in the absence of knowledge of law.
• All the people can be categorised into two in
the modern society:
• 1. Those who are affected by law.
• 2. Those who deal with law
• Ordinary citizen –not mandatory to be a legal
expert
• Law maker – member of Parliament or
member of Legislative Assembly, not
mandatory to be a legal expert.
• Judge – a legal expert.
• Legal adviser - a legal expert
Dimensions
• There are five dimensional communications in the field of
law
• First Dimension– law makers are not compulsorily legal
experts they cannot unfold the technicalities of law, which
is considered as one sided communication done by means
of constitution.
• As the law makers do not have the command over law, and
the language of constitution being technical could not be
understood by them
• So the intention is communicated by the draftsman by the
use of technical language.
• Second Dimension – the interaction that takes
place between the judges and legal
advisers/advocates that could be formal or
informal,
• Exchange of views not much technical but
simple
• However the briefs’ and the judgment’s
language is always technical
Third Dimension
• Informal advice
• Exchange of views between advocates in their
office.
• Exchange of views among the legal experts
• Informal and also technical
Fourth Dimension
• Just simple
• Between ordinary citizens and legal
adviser/advocate.
• Even the legal adviser/advocate has to use
simple language to give more clarity and avoid
misunderstanding.
Fifth Dimension
• Among ordinary citizens
• Contracts
• Wills.
• Bye-laws
• Pieces of Information
 Different Forms
• Preparation of briefs
• Drafting of pleadings
• Presentation of a written statement
• Framing of charge in criminal cases
• Framing of issues in civil cases, and
• Writing judgments
 FOUR WAYS TO ENCOUNTER THE
VOCABULARY OF LAW

First, and most obvious, you will be learning new

words that you probably have not encountered
before.
 These words and phrases have meaning only as legal
terms. Words or phrases such as res judicata,
impleader, executory interest, demurrer and mens-rea,
oblige students to acquire some new vocabulary.
Learning the meaning of these words is essential to
understand any case or discussion which uses them.
• Impleader is a procedural device before trial in which
one party joins a third party into a lawsuit because that
third party is liable to an original defendant
• the defendant seeks to become a third-party
plaintiff by filing a third party complaint against a
third party not presently party to the lawsuit, who
thereby becomes a third-party defendant
• Demurrer : An objection granting the factual basis of
an opponent's point but dismissing it as irrelevant or
invalid
TERMS OF ART
Second, and a bit more difficult, some recognizable words
take on different or new meanings when used in the law
For example,
 ‘Malice’ when used in the law of defamation, does not mean
hatred or meanness; it means “with reckless disregard for the
truth.”
 ‘ Consideration’ ,in contract law, has nothing to do with
thoughtfulness; it means “something of value given by a
party to an agreement “
Words that have distinct or specialized meanings in the law
are sometimes called “terms of art.”
MEANING- AMBIGUITY
Third, there are words whose meaning changes
depending on the context or the place in which it is
used, for example - RESIDENT
One who has his residence in a place.
A person coming into a place with intention to
establish his domicile or permanent residence, and who
in consequence actually remains there.
Thus, the same word can have a different meaning
depending on what question is being asked, and where
it is being asked.
SHORTHAND TERMS
Fourth, there are words that have come to signify large
bodies of law or legal doctrine, and act as shorthand
terms for complex concepts
The terms
• et al. — Latin for "and others".
• NGO - Non Government Organization
• SMJ — Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
are a few examples. These terms have been subject to
interpretation by judges in many cases over long periods
of time
RESPECT FOR LINGUISTIC PRECISION
Finally, students need to develop a heightened respect for linguistic
precision.
 Because the meaning of words is so crucial to the craft of lawyering,
students will be expected to use words carefully and precisely
For example, that there are legally significant differences between “Sally
lives in the United States,” “Sally resides in the United States,” “Sally is
domiciled in the United States,” and “Sally is a citizen of the United
States.”
 Even grammar and punctuation can be crucial: a person who leaves
$50,000 “to each of my children who took care of me,” has a different
intention than a person who leaves $50,000 “to each of my children, who
took care of me.” The lawyer drafting the will needs to know how to wield
that comma, or better yet, how to avoid any confusion in the first place.
EFFECTIVE USE
Once you have learned the legal meanings of
words, you are expected to use them with
precision. Substituting one for another can
result in serious errors and misunderstandings.
The legal meanings of words constitute the
common language of lawyers and judges, who
rely on this language to communicate
efficiently and effectively.