What is (your consigned topic)?

English for Legal Purposes (law)

Law encompasses the study and application of rules and regulations established by governing
authorities to regulate behavior, resolve disputes, and maintain societal order. It is a set of rules
that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,
with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a
science and as the art of justice.

It involves understanding the legal system's structure, including courts, legislation, and
precedents. Legal professionals, such as lawyers and judges, interpret and apply these laws,
advising clients, representing them in legal proceedings, and drafting legal documents.

English for Legal Purposes is designed for learners who have a background in law and require
English language proficiency in legal settings such as courtrooms, law offices, and international
legal interactions. Legal language refers to the specialized vocabulary and terminology used in
the field of law. It is a form of technical jargon with unique meanings and nuances specific to the
legal context. Legal English also involves specialized terminology, principles of legal reasoning,
and techniques for legal research and writing.

English for legal purposes is sometimes difficult to understand because it is often very different
from ordinary English. This comprises two issues:
1. The writing conventions are different: sentences often have peculiar structures,
punctuation is used insufficiently, foreign phrases are sometimes used instead of English
phrases (e.g. inter alia instead of among others), unusual pronouns are employed (the
same, the aforesaid, etc), and unusual set phrases are to be found (null and void, all and
sundry).
2. A large number of difficult words and phrases are used. These fall into four categories,
brief details of which are given below.
a. Legal Terms of Art- Legal terms of art are technical words and phrases that have precise
and fixed legal meanings and which cannot usually be replaced by other words. Some of
these will be familiar to the layperson (e.g. patent, share, royalty). Others are generally
only known to lawyers (e.g. bailment, abatement).
b. Legal Jargon- Legal jargon comprises words used by lawyers, which are difficult for non-
lawyers to understand. Jargon words range from near-slang to almost technically precise
words. Well-known examples of jargon include boilerplate clause and corporate veil.
 Jargon includes a number of archaic words no longer used in ordinary English. These
include annul (to declare that something, such as a contract or marriage is no longer legally
valid) and bequest (to hand down as an inheritance property other than land). It also includes
certain obscure words which have highly specialized meanings and are therefore not often
encountered except in legal documents. Examples include emoluments (a person’s earnings,
including salaries, fees, wages, profits, and benefits in kind) and provenance (the origin or
early history of something). Jargon words should be replaced by plain language equivalents
wherever possible.
c. Legal meaning may differ from the general meaning- There is also a small group of
words that have one meaning as a legal term of art and another meaning in ordinary
English. One example is the word distress, which as a legal term of art refers to the
seizure of goods as security for the performance of an obligation. In ordinary English, it
means anxiety, pain or exhaustion. Here are some further examples
d. Words may be used in apparently peculiar contexts- A number of words and phrases,
which are used in ordinary English, are also used in legal English but in unusual contexts.
Examples include furnish, prefer, and hold.
Overall, English for Legal Purposes (law) focuses on developing the language skills necessary to
navigate and participate effectively in the legal domain, whether through communication,
analysis, or advocacy.

History and Development

1. Roman Britain (after the conquest beginning in AD 43) followed Roman legal tradition,
and its legal language was Latin.
2. Then the Roman departure from Britain circa 410 and the Anglo-Saxon invasion of
Britain, the dominant tradition was instead Anglo-Saxon law, which was discussed in the
Germanic language (Anglo-Saxon, Old English), and written in Old English since circa
600, beginning with the Law of Ethelbert.
3. During the Norman invasion of England in 1066, Anglo-Norman French became the
official language of legal proceedings in England for a period of nearly 300 years, while
Latin was used for written records for over 650 years.
4. In legal pleadings, Anglo-Norman urbanized into Law French, from which many words
in modern legal English are resulting. The use of Law French during this period has an
enduring influence on the general linguistic register of modern legal English.
5. In 1363, the Statute of Pleading was enacted, which stated that all legal proceedings be
conducted in English (but recorded in Latin). This marked the beginning of formal Legal
English; Law French continued to be used in some forms into the 17th century, though it
became increasingly disintegrate.
 6. From 1066, Latin was the language of formal proceedings and statutes, being replaced by
English. However, since only the learned was smooth 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, de facto, bona fide, inter alia, and ultra vires, which
remain in current use in legal writing.
7. Today, with the increasing globalization of legal practice, proficiency in English for law
is essential for legal professionals to navigate cross-border transactions and communicate
effectively with clients and colleagues. As legal practices expanded globally, English
became the dominant language of international law, necessitating proficiency in legal
English among legal professionals worldwide.

At least fifteen vocabularies and fifteen common

phrases/utterances of your assigned field.

1. Complaint - The pleading that starts a case.

2. Judge - a public official appointed to decide the case in a court of law.
3. Attorney - a person who is professionally trained to give legal advance and licenses to
represent people in the court.
4. Plaintiff - a person who brings a legal case against someone else.
5. Defense attorney - represents the defendant accused of a crime.
6. Defendant - a person who is being charged with a legal case or is being sued by another
person.
7. Cross examination - formal questioning of the other party in a trial to challenge the
testimony already given.
8. Verdict - the decision in a trial, made by a jury or a judge means to tell the truth.
9. Guilty - someone has been found to have committed a crime by a jury or a judge.
10. Appeal - is made when the defendant does not like the decision made by the jury or a
judge from a lower count to a higher count.
11. Relevance - You can object to the relevance of evidence if you think a piece of evidence or
something a witness is saying has nothing to do with the case or it is not important in
determining who should win in court.
12. Irrelevant Questions - as “evidence which has at least some tendency to make a fact at
issue more or less true.” Anything that does not fall into that category is irrelevant.
13. Leading question -the witness must answer a question on their own and without any
coaching or influence from the lawyer who is questioning them. This is usually the case
with “yes” or “no” questions.
 14. Argumentative - When the person asking cross-examination questions begins to argue
with the witness, known as “badgering the witness,” then the other party can object to the
questioning as argumentative.
15. Speculation - To testify, a witness needs to know a fact to be true. Witnesses are called to
testify about facts rather than opinions.
16. Vague - a question is when it is difficult or impossible to tell what the question is about.
17. Black Judicial Robes/ Black Robes - to the role of a lawyer and provides a unique visual
to their professional image.
18. Hearsay - someone who tries to prove the truth of something by repeating what they heard
from someone else.
19. Gavel - a small ceremonial mallet that a judge uses to bring order in the courtroom.
20. Hearing - is the formal examination of a case (civil or criminal) before a judge.
21. Objection your honor - the judge then rules on the objection, deciding whether to sustain it
or overrule it.
22. Punitive damages –exemplary damages are damages that are awarded in personal injury
lawsuits in addition to compensatory damages. They can be awarded by courts and juries.
23. Non-Responsive - When a witness starts responding to a question with information that is
completely unrelated to the question, you can object to it as being “non-responsive.”
24. Your Honor - this is a respectful way to address a judge in court.
25. Objection is sustained - the judge agrees with the objection and disallows the question,
testimony, or evidence.

Reference/s
Brown, A. J., & Bailey, R. (2020). Legal writing in plain English (2nd ed.). Oxford University
Press.
Johnson, M. (2018). Introduction to law and legal systems (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Peter Tiersma, The Nature of Legal Language, http://www.languageandlaw.org/NATURE.HTM]
Richard Bradford. 1997. Stylistics; published by Routledge.
Smith, J. K. (2017). Legal English: An introduction to the legal language and culture of the
United States (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Tiersma, Peter M. (1999), Legal language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Yadugiri MA, Bhasker G. (2005). English for Law. Foundation Books;

The document discusses the connection between law and the English language. It states
that legal English is technical in nature and differs from ordinary English. Legal English uses
normative, performative, and technical language. As a normative language, it imposes rights and
obligations. As a performative language, uttering certain words can change legal facts and
consequences. As a technical language, it has specific vocabulary and syntactic structures. Legal
English is used and created by three groups: legislators who write laws, judiciary who write legal
decisions, and lawyers who apply the language in their work.

TOPICS TO DISCUSS ABOUT LEGAL ENGLISH

1. Connection of Law to English

2. The Nature of Legal Language
3. Language of Law: Stylistic Analysis of a Legal Document

CONNECTION OF LAW TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Magical language of words of stipulation and oaths that should have impressed its
subjects and submitted them in awe to its absolute obedience. Now it may be said that awe has
disappeared, but the magic of the law somehow persists, mainly due to its so-called vices-
unintelligibility or wordiness. Legal Positivism argues that all actions are covered by law based
on the principle that what is not prohibited by the law is permitted.

The society is inter-bound by an enormous number of agreements, arrangements, and

contracts, stating and implying the rights and duties of its parties. To give them the mark of a
formality, to regulate them, there is a Law with its provisions. As the main functions of the law
are performative and normative, the law must be able to communicate its norms to their
addresses. This happens through Language. In everyday situations, the law and the language of
its norms, regulations and laws priests-lawyers-are still somewhere nearby.

Nowadays, English is the Latin of today. However, in certain cases, English serves as the
‘neutral’ language of legal agreements that general understanding of English. Legal English and
ordinary English are not identical languages, and the mastery of ordinary English does not mean
a mastery of legal English. The relationship between the language and the law is mutual: the
legal system influences the nature of the legal language and the legal language- the language of
the legal influences the system. Language of law is a system of culture-bound language for
special purposes.
THE NATURE OF LEGAL LANGUAGE

The legal language with respect to the nature of its use which can be described as normative,
performative, and technical.

1. NORMATIVE

 The language of law is used to impose rights and obligations; it is largely prescriptive.
 Law’s basic function is to regulate human behavior and human relations.
 Law is a set of prescriptions having the form of imperative defining and enforcing the
arrangements, relationships, procedures, and patterns of behavior that are to be followed
in a society.

2. PERFORMATIVE

 Speech is not only words but also actions.

 By uttering certain words, the facts may be changed.
 Legal effects and legal consequences are commonly obtained by merely uttering certain
words.

3. TECHNICAL

 The question of the technicality of legal language is not perceived consistently.

 The chief differences may be discussed in relation to the following aspects:
1. SPEAKERS

The Language of law is a language of legal norms and related discourse. The
language of legal norms is that of legislation, judicial decisions, or contracts. It is
said that it is the language created and used specifically by lawyers. Although the
lawyers are from the core of the language-of-law-speaking community,
legislation, for example, is influenced by people with no legal educational
background, yet who adopt the legal terminology and expressions to a certain
extent.

3 TYPES OF LEGAL LANGUAGE USERS/SPEAKER

1. Legislators- all those who create the laws in the written form and who have real
influence on definitions of legal terms.

2. Judiciary- judges and people who influence the written judgments

3. Lawyers- a person who practices or studies law; an attorney or a counselor.

2. STYLE

David Crystal proposes a stylistic authority upon the English legal

language. During the Medieval period, lawyers used a mixture of Latin, French,
and English. To avoid ambiguity lawyers often offered pairs of words from
different languages. Sometimes there was little ambiguity to resolve, and the pairs
merely gave greater emphasis, becoming a stylistic habit. This is a feature of the
legal style that continues to the present day. Examples of mixed language doublets
are: "breaking " (English/French), "fit and proper" (English/French), "lands and
tenements" (English/French), and "will" (English/Latin). Examples of English-
only doublets are: "let and hindrance", "have and hold."

Modern English vocabulary draws significantly from Germanic languages,

French and Latin, the latter often by way of French. These vocabularies are used
preferentially in different registers, with words of French origin being more
formal than those of Germanic origin, and words of Latin origin being more
formal than those of French origin. Thus, the extensive use of French and Latin
words in Legal English results in a relatively formal style.

Further, legal English is useful for its dramatic effect: for example, a
subpoena compelling a witness to appear in court often ends with the archaic
threat "Fail not, at your peril"– the "peril" isn't described (being arrested and held
in contempt of court) but the formality of the language tends to have a stronger
effect on the recipient of the subpoena than a simple statement like "We can arrest
you if you don't show up", (Crystal, 2004).

3. KEY FEATURES OF LEGAL ENGLISH

Legal English differs from Standard English in a number of ways. The most
important of these differences are as follows:

 Use of terms of art. Legal English, in common with the language used by other
trades and professions, employs a great deal of technical terminology which is
unfamiliar to the layman (e.g. waiver, restraint of trade, restrictive covenant,
promissory estoppel). Much of this vocabulary is derived from French and Latin.

 These terms of art include ordinary words used with special meanings. For
example, the familiar term consideration refers, in legal English, to contracts, and
means, an act, forbearance or promise by one party to a contract that constitutes
the price for which the promise of the other party is bought (Oxford Dictionary of
Law). Other examples are construction, prefer, redemption, furnish, hold, and
find.

 Lack of punctuation. One aspect of archaic legal drafting – particularly in

conveyances and deeds – is the conspicuous absence of punctuation. This arose
from a widespread idea among lawyers that punctuation was ambiguous and
unimportant, and that the meaning of legal documents was contained only in the
words used and their context. In modern legal drafting, punctuation is used, and
helps to clarify their meaning.

 Use of doublets and triplets. There is a curious historical tendency in legal

English to string together two or three words to convey what is usually a single
legal concept. Examples of this are null and void, fit and proper, (due) care and
attention, perform and discharge, terms and conditions, dispute, controversy or
claim, and promise, agree and covenant. This was originally done for the sake of
completeness. However sometimes the words used mean exactly the same thing
(null and void); although that is not always the case (dispute, controversy or
claim).

 Unusual word order. At times, the word order used in legal documents appears
distinctly strange. For example, the provisions for termination hereinafter
appearing or will at the cost of the borrower forthwith comply with the same.
 There is no single clear reason for this, although the influence of French
grammatical structures is certainly a contributory factor.

 Use of unfamiliar pro-forms. For example, the same, the said, the
aforementioned etc. The use of such terms in legal texts is interesting since very
frequently they do not replace the noun – which is the whole purpose of pro-forms
– but are used as adjectives to modify the noun. For example, the said John Smith.

 Use of pronominal adverbs. Words like hereof, thereof, and whereof (and further
derivatives, including -at, -in, -after, -before, -with, -by, -above, -on, -upon) are
not often used in ordinary modern English. They are used in legal English
primarily to avoid repeating names or phrases. For example, the parties hereto
instead of the parties to this contract.

 -er, -or, and -ee name endings. Legal English contains some words and titles,
such as employer and employee; lessor and lessee, in which the reciprocal and
opposite nature of the relationship is indicated by the use of alternative endings.

 Use of phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs play a large role in legal English, as they do
in standard English, and are often used in a quasi-technical sense. For example,
parties enter into contracts, put down deposits, serve [documents] upon other
parties, write off debts, and so on..

LANGUAGE OF LAW: STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF A LEGAL DOCUMENT

Levels of stylistic analysis: Stylistics is the study of style, so the analysis of the
text in the domain of stylistics covers variant levels. These levels include graphology,
grammatical, lexical, syntactic, discourse, prosodic, semantic, pragmatic and phonology.
Analysis of the sample of a text is done according to the features of these linguistic
levels.

Methodology

Stylistic analysis features the court pleading that is a judgment of the case against ex-
PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN MR. YOUSAF RAZA GILLANI of the
CONTEMPT OF COURT. The sample incorporates the detailed verdict that was declared
on 26.04.2012.

The case was filed against MR. YOUSAF RAZA GILLANI under CRIMINAL
ORIGINAL PETITION NO. 06 OF 2012 IN SUO MOTU CASE NO. 04 OF 2010.

The Contempt proceedings against Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, the ex-Prime Minister of
Pakistan regarding non-compliance of this Court‘s order dated 16.12.2009 was made.
After that hearings were held continuously on different occasions at regular intervals.

Dates of Hearing: 19.01.2012, 01.02.2012, 02.02.2012, 13.02.2012, 22.02.2012,

28.02.2012, 07.03.2012, 08.03.2012, 21.03.2012, 22.03.2012, 26.03.2012, 27.03.2012,
12.04.2012, 13.04.2012, 16.04.2012, 17.04.2012, 18.04.2012, 19.04.2012, 20.04.2012,
24.04.2012 and 26.04.2012

The sample is the original jurisdiction of THE SUPREME COURT OF

PAKISTAN. The analysis of this legal document features the modal proposed by Leech
and Short(1981) related to the text. They gave ideas that how a text can be interpreted and
what are communicative aspects of the text.

Analysis

Analysis of the sample is done on graphological, lexical, and syntactic levels of

stylistics. Different features of these levels are made distinguish from the sample.

The Aim

The ultimate aim of this research is to explore ways in which language use has
been integrated in the legal document. It is also aimed at analyzing some of the
distinctive features that give the legal document their identity. In the same vein, this work
will be concerned with the striking and marked use of words in legal documents in order
to enhance effective transfer of messages. The effects and functions of the stylistic
elements as regards the legal documents will be looked at in the analysis.

Graphological level:

Layout:
 Layout refers to the sketch or plan of the text's physical appearance. This relates
to paragraphing, indentation, and graphitic choices, Viz., capitalizing, italicizing,
underlining, and bold-typing."

In this perspective, Crystal & Davy proclaim that legal documents were usually
made as a solid block of script whose long lines are from margin to margin and there
were no patterns of spacing or indentation to indicate the limits of the paragraphs or the
relation between them. It was common for draftsmen to compose an entire document in
the form of one single sentence.

English Legal texts, particularly, contracts have certain layout norms adopted
when they are drafted. Some of these are paragraph division, indentation, punctuation,
capitalization, boldtyping, and italization etc. Each of these has a function within legal
texts; their use renders these texts more cohesive and coherent.

The general layout of the sample is that it adopts paragraph division with the use
of indentation and certain sections are made italicized to prove the significance of the
section.

Use of Italicization and Bold text:

It is very important graphological feature of any legal document that words,

phrases, and even sentences are italicized and bold to make stress.

Examples:

1) Option No.2 which states:-

Proceedings may be initiated against the Chief Executive of the Federation,i.e. the
Prime Minister, the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Division,
and the Federal Secretary Law, Justice and Human Rights Division for committing
contempt of this Court by persistently, obstinately and contumaciously resisting,
failing or refusing to implement or execute in full the directions issued by this Court
in its judgment delivered in the case of Dr. Mobashir Hassan (supra)..”
2) Besides this, the Public Prosecutor believed today that the proceedings have been
initiated against Benazir Bhutto and her husband for political reasons that “it is the
 Chief Executive of the country who has the authority to approve or disapprove the
view of the Minister.”

3. This Court has inter alia the following options available to it in this regard:

It may not be lost sight of that, apart from the other consequences, by virtue of the
provisions of clauses (g) and (h) of Article 63(1) read with Article 113 of the
Constitution a possible conviction on such a charge may entail a disqualification from
being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)
or a Provincial Assembly for at least a period of five years.”

4. I may also respectfully point out that this Hon‘ble Bench needs first to hear detailed
arguments on my behalf why Para. 178 of the judgment in the NRO case is not
implementable at present only, for the period Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is the incumbent
President of Pakistan.....

Capitalization:

Some laws require that certain provisions of contracts be printed in a font that is larger
than the remainder of the text, or in all caps, to avoid burying important terms in a bunch
of small text.

A) heading in capitals equal to or greater in size than the surrounding text, or in

contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same or lesser size;

B) and language in the body of a record or display in larger type than the surrounding
text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set
off from surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks that call attention to
the language.

Capitalization of initial letters is in the texts used widely, so I intend to add some more
comments and concrete instances. Capital letters can be seen in the names of the
participators, occupations, organizations and institutions, instruments/documents, main
sections, and also in the sums of money when they are set in words because these
institute an important matter. The capitalized items are directly related to the documents
they carry the notion of ―this and no one else”.
CRIMINAL ORIGINAL PETITION NO. 06 OF 2012 IN SUO MOTU CASE NO. 04 OF
2010

(Contempt proceedings against Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, the (ex)Prime Minister of
Pakistan regarding non-compliance of this Court‘s order dated16.12.2009)

Some other instances are as follows:

1) Names of participators- Attorney General, the Respondent, Federation of Pakistan, etc.

2) Occupations- Prime Minister of Pakistan, Justice, the President of Pakistan, Law

Secretary,the Public Prosecutor etc.

3) Organizations and institutions- National Accountability Bureau, the Federal

government, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, AL-JIHAD TRUST, Supreme Judicial
Council, Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court, etc.

Punctuation:

Another prominent characteristic of English legal texts, in which concerns layout of the
course, is the absence of punctuation. As it is normally known punctuation helps reading
a piece of writing loudly. But, what if legal texts are originally made to be read in silence,
not to be spoken in a loud voice hence the thinness of their punctuation?

In the sample text it appears that there is a thickness of punctuation that shows the
FORMALITY of the sample taken. Nowadays, one can safely assume that punctuation
though rare, has a function in legal texts, and this trait is clearly apparent in the document
taken as a sample.

Abbreviations:

It is an important graphological feature that gives stress on some long terms by making
them short for the economy of space. In the text at certain places, abbreviations are used
instead of whole phrases or names of different things or related material.

Lexical level:

Lexical aspects, along with those of grammar, contribute to the distinct character of legal
texts and documents. Generally speaking, the vocabulary is formal and standard
complying with the norms of the style to the highest degree. It is supported by the
presence of literary language; no colloquial expressions appear. Moreover, there are other
essential lexical aspects pinpointing the typical picture of legal English.

Use of archaic expression:

It is traditionally used in abundant in legal English. In the sample there are many
occurrences of items such as hereafter and heretofore, herein, hereto and hereby, thereof,
hereinafter, thereto and whatsoever . The occurrences, though, are not high as they may
be in some other writs. It depends on the drafter of the document. Overtly, these
archaisms are used for the kind of precise reference to the document or its parts, and to
the contracting parties. Sometimes, these expressions are the grounds for critic because
some people see these items as a ritually repeating habit, not reverence to tradition.

Use of Germanic words or Technical terms:

Every domain has its characteristic vocabulary connected to the area in which it plays
part. The origin of the lexis is multilayered due to many historical events. There are,
besides binomials, other borrowed words from French and Latin as well as other
Romance and Germanic languages that have established as technical terms. Legal English
is also specific in the use of collocations, bi-, tri- or multinomial pairs, and phrases
constituted by more than two items. They are also considered very formal and are labeled
technical terms. In the sample material it is possible to find many French and Latin
words.

Enumeration:

It means, listing more than two elements of the same meaning or similar character, is
richly displayed in legal documents. This is applied for the sake of precision and
avoidance of loopholes, sometimes for the sake of reverence to tradition.

Formality:

Many expressions of legal English have a high degree of formality, e.g. the preference of
shall to will; positions of people and institutions involved have capitalized initial letters,
even the names of the documents are capitalized.
Use of any:

This word is considered redundant, but in legal documents is more than common. It
sometimes appears excessive, but it has its justification. It is applied to make the whole
sentences as inclusive as possible, so that, again, there is no loophole.

Examples:

1. It may be noted that in neither of the Summaries or the opinions forming part of the
Summaries any reference was made to the immunity of the President under Article 248 of
the Constitution or under the Customary International Law.

2. (c) any other ground which may be necessary to be taken in the court; and (d) any
other instructions the Hon‟ble Prime Minister may like to give in this Regard.

Syntactic level:

Syntactic features are probably more distinctive of legal English than are lexical ones,
and certainly account for more of the difficulties of lay persons in comprehending it.‖
Danet, 1985:281) Some of the more important features of the syntactic level are being
explained.

Nominalization:

English has a tendency to nominalization, particularly that of verbs. As a result, the

structure of the sentence is often attributive and it may be understood as ―a fairly loose
connection between the parts of the sentence, which are often coordinate and of equal
syntactic status.

Unique determiners:

Examples:

1) In the said Ordinance, after section 33E, the following new section shall be inserted,
namely ……..
2) The learned counsel for the Respondent submitted that the value of such statement by
the Attorney-General is only evidence that statement was made but not of its contents
unless the Attorney-General testifies on oath to the correctness of the statement.

Impersonality in Legal documents:

Examples:

1) The Respondent appeared and personally addressed the Court generally, defended his
inaction by referring to the immunity of the President of Pakistan and having acted on the
advice tendered to him in the ordinary case of business.

2) Conceding that under the ordinary law, there was an exception to the rule that ‗no man
can be a judge in his own cause‘, allowing a Judge, who takes suo motu notice to try a
contemnor, he contended that the exception is no longer valid after the introduction of
Article 10A.

Sentence length and complexity:

Examples:

1) Since the NRO,2007 stands declared vod ab initio, therefore, any actions taken or
suffered under the said law are also on est in law and since the communications
addressed by Malik Muhammad Qayyum to various foreign fora/authorities/courts
withdrawing the requests earlier made by the Government of Pakistan for mutual
legal assistance; surrendering the status of civil party; abandoning the claims to the
allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland, have
also been declared by us to be unauthorized and illegal communications and
consequently of no legal effect, therefore, it is declared that the initial requests for
mutual legal assistance; securing the status of civil party and the claim lodged to the
allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland are
declared never to have been withdrawn.

Conditional sentences:

Examples:
1) Basing his argument on second condition, it was contended that his Bench having
already formed an opinion, even if prima facie, about the culpability of the Respondent, it
was no longer competent to proceed with the trial.

2) Acceptance of the Respondent‘s plea to delay the implementation of the direction of

this Court would be tantamount to review of the clear orders passed in both the
judgments that the implementation is to be carried out immediately and without delay.

Use of prepositional phrases:

Examples:

1) Request for mutual assistance made by the then government, which already stand
withdrawn, was politically motivated.

2) The Attorney-General was further directed to inform all such persons mentioned in the
order about its passage and of the next date of hearing.

Use of passives:

1) He pointed out that whereas many other fundamental rights enshrined in the
Constitution had been made subject to law, such limits have not been imposed on the
fundamental right under Article 10A.

2) This principle has been further expounded to mean that a Judge must not hear a case in
which he has personal interest, whether or not his decision is influenced by his interest,
for ―justice should not only be done but be seen to have been done.

Use of negatives:

Examples:

1) We hereby confirm that the Republic of Pakistan having not suffered any damage
withdraws in the capacity of civil party not only against Mr. Asif Ali Zardari but also
against Mr. Jens Schlegelmich and any other third party concerned by these proceedings.

2) Despite the above clear declaration and categorical direction given by this Court on
16.12.2009, the Federal Government took no steps, whatsoever, towards implementation
of the order.
1. Defense attorney - represents the defendant accused of a crime.
2. Cross examination - formal questioning of the other party in a trial to
challenge the testimony already given.
3. Irrelevant Questions - as “evidence which has at least some tendency to
make a fact at issue more or less true.” Anything that does not fall into that
category is irrelevant.
4. Leading question -the witness must answer a question on their own and
without any coaching or influence from the lawyer who is questioning them.
This is usually the case with “yes” or “no” questions.
5. Black Judicial Robes/ Black Robes - wearing 'Black Robe' creates a sense of
discipline among Lawyers and gives them a sense of Power and feeling of
being upholders of Rights and Justice.
6. Objection your honor - the judge then rules on the objection, deciding
whether to sustain it or overrule it.
7. Punitive damages –exemplary damages are damages that are awarded in
personal injury lawsuits in addition to compensatory damages. They can be
awarded by courts and juries.
8. Non-Responsive - When a witness starts responding to a question with
information that is completely unrelated to the question, you can object to it
as being “non-responsive.”
9. Your Honor - this is a respectful way to address a judge in court.
10.Objection is sustained - the judge agrees with the objection and disallows
the question, testimony, or evidence.