‘In truth the judges ought not to blame the draughtsmen overmuch. They ought to blame themselves or their predecessors in their judicial seats.’
Introduction
There seem to be two main characters at the start . As such, it is apposite that I briefly outline how the role of draughtsmen and judges interplay in the common law system. Essentially, draughtsmen drafts statutes according to the purpose of parliament and judges interpret the statutes and apply it to the case before them. I will explore each of their roles in greater depth when I arrive at their respective section, but this is sufficient for now.
Before I proceed, I will dissect the statement to facilitate analysis. Firstly, by stating that judges ought not to blame the draughtsmen overmuch suggest that draughtsmen are getting too much blame. The …show more content…
Rules of plain language drafting were laid down as early as 1906 in the The King’s English. The plain language movement is a call for the abandonment of legalese and adoption of plain English in drafting legislations.
These rules and practices were designed to make the law easier to understand without altering its meaning. However, the devil is in the details. The policy of legislation is often complex and the unenviable task of finding a middle ground between precision and clarity falls on the draughtsmen. Nonetheless, there are learned writers who have argued that precision and clarity are complementary rather than mutually exclusive goals.
In sum, no sensible drafter would claim that it is possible to achieve complete certainty. Drafting is not exact science. Drafters can only try to achieve as much certainty as they reasonably can. The obvious excesses of traditional style must be avoided, but over-emphasis on plain language techniques, without sufficient regard to precision, can sometimes result in the law being
Introduction
There seem to be two main characters at the start . As such, it is apposite that I briefly outline how the role of draughtsmen and judges interplay in the common law system. Essentially, draughtsmen drafts statutes according to the purpose of parliament and judges interpret the statutes and apply it to the case before them. I will explore each of their roles in greater depth when I arrive at their respective section, but this is sufficient for now.
Before I proceed, I will dissect the statement to facilitate analysis. Firstly, by stating that judges ought not to blame the draughtsmen overmuch suggest that draughtsmen are getting too much blame. The …show more content…
Rules of plain language drafting were laid down as early as 1906 in the The King’s English. The plain language movement is a call for the abandonment of legalese and adoption of plain English in drafting legislations.
These rules and practices were designed to make the law easier to understand without altering its meaning. However, the devil is in the details. The policy of legislation is often complex and the unenviable task of finding a middle ground between precision and clarity falls on the draughtsmen. Nonetheless, there are learned writers who have argued that precision and clarity are complementary rather than mutually exclusive goals.
In sum, no sensible drafter would claim that it is possible to achieve complete certainty. Drafting is not exact science. Drafters can only try to achieve as much certainty as they reasonably can. The obvious excesses of traditional style must be avoided, but over-emphasis on plain language techniques, without sufficient regard to precision, can sometimes result in the law being