Review article

Plain English for Law Movement

Marijana Javornik Čubrić ; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

English for Legal Purposes constantly changes and adapts to new circumstances. Some of recent changes were the result of the Plain English for Law movement. The purpose of the Plain English for Law movement is to make the legal documents more comprehensible to the average person. Criticism of legal writing in England dates back to the 14th century, but the modern plain English movement began in the 1970s. Today, many books are available for use in law school writing courses, as well as for teaching English for Law that focuses on plain English principles. This paper analyses the history of the plain English movement, the changes in the legal language in Great Britain introduced in 1999 with the implementation of the new rules of civil procedure that abolished some outdated legal terms for modern equivalents, as well as the main ways to teach the students of law and law professionals how to make legal writing clearer. The paper also addresses criticism of the Plain English for Law movement.

Keywords

archaisms; English for Law; plain English; terminology

Hrčak ID:

124805

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/124805

Publication date:

1.7.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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