“Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions”pja.gov.pk/system/files/Half Day Seminar on Legal...

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14 November, 2014

Half Day Seminar on

“Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions”

Multan Division

(14th November 2014)

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Report drafted and edited by: Muhammad Amir Munir, Senior Instructor

Composed by: Salman Tariq

Designed by: Humair Ali

Disclaimer: The speeches, writings, powerpoint presentations do not necessarily follow the policy of the Academy. These will remain responsibility of their respective authors.

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Executive Summary

The Punjab Judicial Academy has organized second in series divisional level judicial education seminar at Multan on the topic of legal English. The present Report contain all the necessary and relevant documents pertaining to this half day Seminar including speeches, papers and PowerPoint presentations. The Report of the Seminar is submitted for future reference, research and need assessment.

Copyright © Punjab Judicial Academy

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 3

The Concept: ....................................................................................................................... 6

Half-Day Seminar as Part of Activities under Annual Calendar 2014: ................................ 8

Selection of Seminar Theme: .............................................................................................. 9

Selection of lead Resource Person: .................................................................................... 9

Objectives of the Seminar: ...............................................................................................14

Topics: ...............................................................................................................................15

Preparation of Reading Material: .....................................................................................15

Proceedings of the Seminar: ............................................................................................16

Welcome address: ............................................................................................................17

Paper of DG: .....................................................................................................................22

Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy ...........................................22

Introduction ......................................................................................................................22

It further says: ..................................................................................................................22

The Conference resolved, inter alia, as under:.................................................................23

Why to write in English? ...................................................................................................23

Legal Regime on use of English as Court / Official Language ...........................................24

Legal provisions dealing with use of language under Civil Procedure laws: ....................25

Legal provisions dealing with use of language under Criminal Procedure laws: .............27

Section 356 CrPC is relevant. It reads: ..............................................................................28

Section 357 deals with language of record of evidence. It reads:....................................28

Section 364 CrPC deals with recording of evidence. The relevant part reads: ................29

Sub-section (3) of section 364 CrPC is also relevant. It reads: .........................................29

Legislation and the Language: ..........................................................................................31

Courts and English Language: ...........................................................................................31

Role of the Courts to Write Judgments with clarity, conciseness and brevity: ................32

PowerPoint presentation of the Director-General on ......................................................33

Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy ...........................................33

PowerPoint presentation of the Dr. Naveed on ...............................................................37

Characteristics of Legal Language or Legalese .................................................................37

Angles of Investigation .....................................................................................................37

PowerPoint presentation of the Dr. Naveed on ...............................................................44

ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING (Simplification Devices) ......................................................44

Plain English Movement:- .................................................................................................49

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Question Answer Session .................................................................................................50

Evaluation of Seminar: .....................................................................................................52

Letters of Thanks: .............................................................................................................52

Seminar on Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions....................................................54

PROGRAM .........................................................................................................................55

Session I: 3:30-4:00 p.m. ..................................................................................................55

Session III: 4:30-6:00 p.m. ................................................................................................56

CONCLUDING CEREMONY: ...............................................................................................57

Pictorial: ............................................................................................................................59

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Half Day Seminar on “Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions”

Multan Division (14th November 2014)

The Concept:

Judges have to write orders and judgments to

express the reasons for said orders and judgments. The

laws in Pakistan do not allow oral judgments. The

constitution of Pakistan provides that there will and

independent judiciary while in accordance with its Article

175 (2), the courts have jurisdiction as confer by the

constitution or by or under any law. This is to ensure that

the courts function purely within the domain of the law.

The Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (CPC) under Chapter XX

and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (CrPC) under

Chapter XXVI require that the judgments of the court are

pronounced in the language of the court. However, both

the Codes also empower the courts to use English

language for writing orders or judgments until a specific

bar is created in this regard. Reference may be made to

Section 137 of CPC and section 367 of CrPC for the

purpose.

The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 in Article 251

declares that the national language of Pakistan is Urdu.

However, it also provides that the English language may

used for official purposes until arrangements are made for

its replacement by Urdu. We have yet to see a law to

declare Urdu as official language.

The courts, which are creature different laws, are

addressed by the counsel in English or Urdu while

pleading are also written in these two languages at the

option of the parties or their counsel. This is a practice

since long and we have found that the colonial laws

dealing with procedure of courts have provision to allow

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―language of the court‖ as a means of the expression of

court judgment orders and decrees. Thus, the Hon‘ble

Lahore High Court Rules and Orders, vol. III, Ch. 1-E

mentions that Urdu shall be deemed to be the language of

the criminal courts in the Punjab. This is done under

section 558 of CrPC.

In Shamsuddin Ahmad v. Registrar High Court of

East Pakistan, PLD 1967 SC 501, the Hon‘ble Supreme

Court of Pakistan has held as under:

Until arrangements have been made for

replacement of English, rules requiring the use

of English language for the conduct of official

business, can not be held to be void.

This led us to understand that until English language is

replaced with Urdu, English as a language of court will

remain an important means of expression and

communication. Laws are also enacted in English

language by the respective legislature in this country. The

judgment of Hon‘ble Constitutional Courts, except few, are

also written in English. This has mad us to understand

that without proper understanding of the language, its

vocabulary, grammar, style and usage, the judges as

writers may fell into fallacies of misuse or inappropriate

use of the language. This, if happens, may cause great

confusion in the meaning and expression of their

judgments and orders and thus, may reduce the quality of

justice administered through said writing/ judgment.

Judges, thus, need to learn English language as a

tool of communication of their reasons for a judgment or

order and other writings.

The Punjab Judicial Academy has considered the

importance of English language in system of

administrative justice for the above mentioned reasons

and for the following observations made by Hon‘ble

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Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case titled Pakistan Bar

Council v. Federation of Pakistan, PLD2007 SC 394:

The study of English language is of particular

importance because it is predominantly the

court language in the country and is the most

widely spoken language in the world.

The National Judicial Conference 2007 has also

highlighted the importance of quality judgments as ―a well

written and succinct judgment based on thorough

analysis of fact and law is not only proof of the intellectual

strength of the judge but also reflect the quality of the

judicial system.‖1 It is further stated in the Report of NJC

2007 that ―the art of writing a quality judgment remains

an on going challenge as courts are faced with rising

litigation, backlog and inadequate research facilities‖2

Section 4 (b) of the Punjab Judicial Act 2007

mandates that the Academy shall develop the skills and

techniques for court management, case management,

delay reduction, alternative dispute resolution and

judgment writing.

Half-Day Seminar as Part of Activities under Annual Calendar

2014:

The Punjab Judicial Academy has prepared first-of-

its-kind Annual Calendar 2014 for the months of

September to December 2014. Under this Calendar, a

number of training programs for judicial officer and court

personal were planed. To extend the services of the

Academy to the district judiciary of the Punjab, it was

thought to include an out reach program of the Academy

wherein the Academy has to conduct different divisional

level judicial education programs at divisional

headquarters. In the Annual Calendar 2014, a half day

1 Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, Annual Report 2007, Islamabad: LJCP, Page 26,

available online at www.ljcp.gov.pk. Last visited on 15-04-2015. 2 Ibid

http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/

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Seminar after Friday Prayer was fixed for 14th November,

2014 (Annex-I).

The purpose to use Fridays for half day Seminars

after Juma Prayer was that by this strategy, the judicial

trainee and education may be imparted without using

public/court time of judges. The other purpose was the

saving of money as the judicial officers were required to

travel to Lahore for program arranged at the campus of

the Academy. The third was to provide inter-action of the

judiciary with academia.

Selection of Seminar Theme:

Considering the above provision as casting a duty

upon the Academy to organize English language Seminar

for judges, the Academy has contacted Professor Dr.

Naveed Ahmad, Chair, English Language Center,

Department of English, Bahauddin Zakariya University

(BZU), Multan for assisting the Academy in organizing a

half day Seminar on the topic ―Legal English for Judges:

New Dimension‖.

Selection of lead Resource Person:

The selection of Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad as lead

resource person for the subject program was for the

reason that in the past he has conducted English

language training program at the Federal Judicial

Academy Islamabad. The other reason was his PhD

degree in legal English. Preliminary discussion to organize

this program were made during an informal visit of Dr.

Naveed to this Academy and it was found that the

academy can organize the subject program in

collaboration with English language center BZU.

A letter bearing No. DG / PJA / 1(01) / 2014 / 2015,

dated 13 October, 2014 (Annex-II) was written to

Professor Dr. Naveed Ahmad for providing logistic and

technical support in organizing the Seminar. The BZU

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responding positively and the Seminar was finalized to be

organized on Friday, 14 November, 2014 at BZU Multan.

A letter No. DP/PJA/4(3-Multan)/2014/2176, dated24-10-

2014 (Annex-III) was written to the Registrar Hon‘ble

Lahore High Court for seeking nomination of 35 Judicial

Officers to attend the subject Seminar. The Hon‘ble Lahore

High Court vide letter No. 25473 JOB(I)/VI.F.6, dated 31

October, 2014 (Annex-IV) allowed the Academy to conduct

the Seminar and also nominated Judicial Officers for the

purpose as per list attached with said letter.

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Objectives of the Seminar:

The Seminar objectives were to make judges aware of:

Linguistic characteristic of the

language of law

Modern trend in legal English: plain

English movement

Practical techniques in simplification

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Importance in English in judgment

writing

Topics:

The resource persons for the program were the

Director-General PJA and Professor. Dr. Naveed

Ahmad, Director, English Language Center, BZU. The

topics assigned to each of them were as under:

Significance of English in Judgment

Writing (Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi, DG,

PJA)

Characteristic of Legal English (Prof.

Dr. Naveed Ahmad)

Modern Trends in Legal English (Prof.

Dr. Naveed Ahmad)

Preparation of Reading Material:

To make the Seminar truly professional and

objective, the Academy has emphasized on preparation of

reading material/ manual for the trainees. This is modern

way of adult learning it is provided in section 5 of the PJA

Act 2007 that the Academy shall use all modern technique

for imparting judicial training. Teaching method and

evaluation systems shall be at par with international

standards. Therefore, the following reading material was

selected as part of literature distributed among the

participants:

i. Judicial Opinion Writing Handbook by

Joyce J. George, 4th edition, Buffalo, New York:

William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2000

ii. Plain English for Lawyers by Richard C.

Wydick, 4th Edition, Durham, North Carolina:

Carolina Academic Press, 1998

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iii. Simplified Laws (Seminar material prepared

by Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad)

iv. Original Laws (Seminar material prepared by

Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad)

v. Advance Legal Writing (Seminar material

prepared by Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad)

vi. “Significance of English in Judgment

Writing: Law and Policy” (paper along with

power point presentation by Syed Khurshid

Anwar Rizvi, Director-General Punjab Judicial

Academy)

vii. Power point presentations on the topics

―Characteristics of Legal English‖ and ―Modern

Trends in Legal English‖ by Prof. Dr. Naveed

Ahmad.

The above material along with printed program of the

Seminar was distributed to the participants and other

guests in hand bags containing the theme of the Seminar

printed on them.

Proceedings of the Seminar:

The Seminar began at BZU Campus Multan on time.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Hon‘ble Mr.

Justice Shah Khawar (as Chief Guest) while others on

stage were Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizwi, Director-General,

Punjab Judicial Academy, Mr. Bahadur Ali Khan, District

and Sessions Judge Multan, Prof. Dr. Shabbar Atique,

Dean Faculty (as Guest of Honour on behalf on the Vice-

Chancellor), Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad, Director ELC, BZU

(lead presenter) and Muhammad Amir Munir, Senior

Instructor, Punjab Judicial Academy (Stage

Secretary/Seminar Coordinator, PJA).

The nominee judicial officers were also present along

with the District and Session Judge Multan and some

other university students assisting the lead presenter. The

proceedings started with Tilawat-e-Qur‘an by Mr.

Muhammad Asif, Senior Civil Judge Multan. Thereafter,

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the Director-General of the Academy made his Welcome

Address. It is reproduced in verbatim as under:

Welcome address:

Half Day Seminar on “Legal English for Judges: A

New Dimension”

Friday, 14 November, 2014

English Language Center, BZU, Multan

Jointly organized by the PJA and ELC at BZU.

WELCOME ADDRESS

By

Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi

Director-General, Punjab Judicial Academy

Hon‘ble Chief Guest Mr. Justice Shah Khawar, Judge

Lahore High Court,

Prof. Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqma, Vice-Chancellor, Bahauddin Zakariya University, the Guest of Honor (Prof. Dr. Shabbar Atiq, Dean Faculty, BZU, Multan on behalf of the VC attended the function); Mr. Bahadur Ali Khan, learned District & Sessions Judge, Multan Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad, Chairperson, English Language Center, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan And dear participants Assalamo Alaikum! First of all I am grateful to his lordship Hon‘ble Mr. Justice Shah Khawar for sparing some time from his busy schedule and to be here with us to attend this important

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Half Day Seminar on the topic ―Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions‖. I am also grateful to the Vice Chancellor of BZU Prof. Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqama for coming into technical and financial collaboration with the Punjab Judicial Academy to organize this joint program. I would like to mention with gratitude Prof Dr. Naveed Ahmad, PhD in Legal English and Head of the English Language Center, BZU for providing his academic and technical support in organizing this Seminar. He will be conducting the main sessions as lead speaker/presenter.

I am also thankful to the participants to be with us for learning the issues of English language and its relevance to judicial system.

Thanks are also due towards Mr. Bahadur Ali Khan, learned District & Sessions Judge Multan and Mr. Muhammad Asif, learned Senior Civil Judge, Multan for helping the Academy in dealing with issues related to this Seminar for its smooth organization.

Finally, we are grateful to his lordship Hon‘ble Mr. Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmad, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court and Chairperson, Board of Management, Punjab Judicial Academy, for permitting us to organize and conduct this important judicial training event here at Multan in collaboration with the BZU and also for nominating judicial officers of Multan District to participate in it.

The PJA was established in 2007 through the Punjab Judicial Academy Act, 2007 for imparting training to the judicial officers and court personnel with a view to develop their capacity, professional competency and ethical standards for efficient dispensation of justice and matters ancillary thereto. Since then, Academy has organized many programs for judicial officers, court personnel, lawyers and officers / officials of other departments relevant to justice sector.

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In this financial year, the Academy has taken new initiatives to broaden its outreach to the judicial officers and court personnel. Therefore, with a vision to streamline its activities and to take the stakeholders on board, a first of its kind Judicial Education Events Calendar was issued by the Academy for the months September to December 2014. It contained a number of conferences, seminars, workshops and trainings programs to be organized and conducted by the Academy. More than a thousand judicial officers and court personnel will get training under the new scheme till the end of this year. As part of this activity, a National Conference of Judicial Academies on Key Issues and Challenges in Judicial Education was also organized by the Academy on 25th October in which all the five judicial academies in Pakistan participated. Papers were read by national experts on different issues being faced by the judicial academies. Papers were also read by international experts in judicial education from the United States, Scotland and India by using Skype software. It was, indeed, a great success.

An important feature of the Calendar is that it has number of half day seminars that have to be organized at divisional headquarters on various topics of law and development. These seminars serve two purposes: one that they are being held on Fridays after Jum`a prayers and thus judicial time is saved; two that the Academy is coming to district judiciary itself to provide them opportunity to refresh their knowledge, skills and attitudes for better performance. This is the second of four such programs.

The theme selected for today‘s event has its importance in terms that though English is official language of Pakistan but it is not our mother tongue. Hon‘ble Supreme Court of Pakistan in Pakistan Bar Council v Federation of Pakistan, PLD 2007 SC 394, has observed that law students ―got to have sound language skills for reading, writing and communication. The study of English language is of particular importance. Because it is predominantly the Court language in the country and is the most widely

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spoken language in the world.‖ Keeping in view all this, the objectives of the seminar have been defined as under:

Linguistic Characteristics of the Language of Law

Modern Trends in Legal English: Plain English

Movement

Practical Techniques in Simplification

Importance of English in Judgment Writing

We all know that, in Pakistan, the laws are enacted and binding judicial decisions are made in English. There are very few examples of judicial decisions in Urdu language—a recent development. Though efforts have been made, in recent past, by the Hon‘ble Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Lahore High Court to issue or translate judgments in Urdu language for wider readership by the people, but until the law is not changed, the Courts have to use English language for writing judgments wherever provided in the law. I will be discussing relevant provisions from the Constitutional law, civil and criminal procedure laws and Lahore High Court Rules and Orders that mandate courts to use English for certain purposes including writing judgments.

Let me also introduce our lead Resource Person Professor Dr. Naveed Ahmad. He has done his Ph.D. in Legal English from BZU Multan. He is a Fulbright Fellow and has studied the subject in the United States as well. He had, as I am told, in the past, run a Legal English Course for judicial officers at the Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad. I hope that his expertise and research into the topic will bring fresh ideas for all of us to know and then to apply in our court work for improving our writing skills in English language. Likewise, in his last session, he will orient us about Plain English Movement. By using simple

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language, we can raise the understanding level of audience of our judgments and orders.

I am sure that you are open to ideas, open to education and open to learning. Your attention to the subject will definitely make this learning an important asset for you for your future court work.

Your feedback at the end of these sessions will help us in improving the contents and materials for future use.

Thank you for being part of this interesting event.

Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad was invited on stage to

introduce the audience with the objective and description

importance and significance of the program with reference

to its practical application in day to day working of courts.

Thereafter Prof. Dr. Shabbar Atiq, Senior Dean

Faculty BZU, was invited for making a speech on behalf of

the Vice Chancellor of BZU as he could not attend the

function on account of some prior engagement. Dr. Atiq

has conveyed the feeling of the V.C in terms that the

academic cooperation with the judiciary is an important

development on part of the Punjab Judicial Academy

Wherein Judges will learn new dimensions of there work

for better performance in the court rooms. He hoped that

this type of interaction shall continue in future as well. He

offered all the courtesy on behalf of the V.C.

The first session was on ―Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy‖. Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizi, Director-General Punjab Judicial Academy made his presentation on the topic. The details of his presentation are as under:

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Paper of DG:

Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy

By

Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi

Director-General, Punjab Judicial Academy

Introduction

In National Judicial Conference 2007,3 the topic of quality

of judgment was one of the major themes. It has been

explained as under:

Judgment is the outcome of evaluation of facts and evidence submitted by the court. A well written and succinct judgment based on thorough analysis of facts and law is not only proof of the intellectual strength of a judge but also reflects the quality of the judicial system. In Pakistan, the art of writing a good quality judgment remains an ongoing challenge as courts are faced with rising litigation, backlog and inadequate research facilities. Under the circumstances where courts lack human, financial and technical resources, the challenge of ensuring quality of judgment becomes quite a critical challenge.

It further says:

The issue of writing a quality judgment is not merely important in improving the efficiency of judicial performance but it also plays an important role in gaining public trust in the justice system. It further provides evidence of professional standards in maintaining the reputation of the court in dispensing

3 http://ljcp.gov.pk/njc/introduction.htm. Visited 6 November 2014.

http://ljcp.gov.pk/njc/introduction.htm

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justice as litigant public expect a just, fair and quality justice and much depends on the content, structure and presentation of facts-the key elements in judgment writing processes.

The Conference resolved, inter alia, as under:4

The capacity of judicial academies should be strengthened in order to undertake imparting of innovative methods and techniques for quality judgment writing. Exposure of judges to the international best practices in writing quality judgments should be arranged through workshops, seminars and conferences, both within the country and abroad. The curriculum of legal education institutions should be structured in a manner so that law students can appreciate drafting and delivery of quality judgments.

After the resolution, the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) had considered to refer the matter to the concerned bodies/authorities to implement the decisions of the NJC 2007. However, as the Punjab Judicial Academy was not in existence at that moment of time, no efforts could have been made in Punjab for training of judges on improving their writing skills. The present Seminar is reflective of the above realization by the NJPMC that quality of judgment writing should be improved and proper training has to be provided by the judicial academies in this regard.

Why to write in English?

The first question that comes to our mind is ―Why to write in English?‖. Hon‘ble Supreme Court of Pakistan, while discussing the standards of legal education in Pakistan Bar Council v Federal

4

http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/Menu%20Items/Publications/Reports%20of%20the%20LJCP/reports/Annual%20Report%202007-2009.pdf, at p. 82. Visited on 8 November 2014.

http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/Menu%20Items/Publications/Reports%20of%20the%20LJCP/reports/Annual%20Report%202007-2009.pdf

http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/Menu%20Items/Publications/Reports%20of%20the%20LJCP/reports/Annual%20Report%202007-2009.pdf

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Government, PLD 2007 SC 394, has observed as under (per Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, J.):5

They got to have sound language skills for reading, writing and communication. The study of English language is of particular importance. Because it is predominantly the Court language in the country and is the most widely spoken language in the world

We need to understand the constitutional and legal regime in this regard.

Legal Regime on use of English as Court / Official Language

Constitutional provisions dealing with language:

Article 251(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 provides that Urdu is the National Language of Pakistan but for that purpose a period of 15 years was anticipated for replacement of English language with the national language.6 However, sub-Article (2) of Article 251 provides a stop gap arrangement for use of English language as under:

(2) Subject to clause (1), the English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu.

This is the basis of use of English language for official purposes. However, we have to bear in mind the word ―may‖ in this Article. It enables the laws dealing with courts and their judgments to use ―Court Language‖ to stand on the statute book after promulgation of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973.

5 The three member bench comprised of : Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Hon’ble

Mr. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Syed Jamshed Ali. 6 For previous constitutional provisions on the same point, see Article 214 of Constitution of

Pakistan 1956; Article 215 of Constitution of Pakistan 1962.

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Legal provisions dealing with use of language under Civil

Procedure laws:

The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 has the following provisions where language is relevant:

Section 2(9) CPC defines ―judgment‖ as under:

(9) ―judgment‖ means the statement given by the judge of the grounds of a decree or order.7

Section 33 CPC reads:

33. Judgment and Decree.—The court, after the case has been heard, shall pronounce judgment and on such judgment a decree shall follow.

Order XX CPC deals with judgment, its kinds and contents. Its Rule 4(2) provides as under:

Judgments of other Courts.—(2) Judgments of other Courts shall contain a concise statement of the case, the points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for such decision.

In PLD 1976 Lahore 1162, it has been held:

It is only after the judge has reduced his decision into writing that a judgment comes into existence.

It has been held in a number of cases8 that oral judgment is nullity in the eyes of law and an oral order receives finality after it is written and signed.

Section 137 CPC guides us about the language of subordinate courts. It reads as under:

137. Language of subordinate Courts.—(1) The language, which, on the commencement of this Code, is the language of any Court subordinate to a High Court shall continue to be the language of such subordinate Court until the Provincial Government otherwise directs.

(2) The Provincial Government may declare what shall be the language of any such Court and in what character applications to and proceedings in such Courts shall be written.

7 Underlined to add emphasis.

8 See, for example, PLD 2005 SC 186; PLD 1983 SC 243; PLD 1981 SC 371; 2008 SCMR 143.

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(3) Where this Code requires or allows anything other than the recording of evidence to be done in writing in any such Court, such writing may be in English; but if any party or his pleader is unacquainted with English a translation into the language of the Court shall, at his request, be supplied to him; and the Court shall make such order as it thinks fit in respect of the payment of the costs of such translation.

Section 138 of CPC empowers a High Court to require evidence to be recorded in English. For clarity, let us read the complete provision:

138. Power of High Court to require evidence to be recorded in English.—(1) The High Court may, by notification in the official gazette, direct with respect to any Judge specified in the notification, or falling under a description set forth therein, that evidence in cases in which an appeal is allowed shall be

taken down by him in the English language and in manner prescribed.

(2) Where a judge is prevented by any sufficient reason from complying with a direction under sub-section (1), he shall record the reason and cause the evidence to be taken down in writing from his dictation in open Court.

Lahore High Court Rules and Orders, Vol. I, Chapter 11-A deals with preparation and delivery of judgments. Para 2(1) of Part A of Rules ibid reads as under:

(1) The judgment should be written either in the language of the Court, or in English.

Para 9 of Part A of Rules ibid is again relevant to our topic. It reads:

9. Language.—Presiding Officers of Civil Courts, who are well acquainted with the English language, should write their judgments in English in appealable cases. When a Civil Judge writes his judgment in English, the decree should also be framed in the same language.

Para 10 of Part A of Rules ibid deals with the translation of a judgment into Urdu. This is also relevant to understand that a judgment written in English may be translated in Urdu and thus needs to be written clearly and precisely. The para 10 is reproduced as under:

10. Translation in Urdu.—Whenever the judgment is written in the English language, and any of the parties to the suit or appeal, or, if they were represented by counsel their counsel are not acquainted with that language, the judgment must, if any of the parties so require, and unless it is the judgment of Small Causes, be translated into Urdu. The High Court has

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not thought it advisable to issue instructions as to when the judgment of a Subordinate Court shall be translated by the Presiding Officer and when other agency may be employed, as this is a matter which can be best settled by each District Judge for the Courts subordinate to him. District Judges are, however, requested to issue definite instructions on the subject. When the translation is not made by the Presiding Officer, he should always satisfy himself that it is correct.

Another guidance in the Lahore High Court Rules and Orders ibid is on legibility of a hand written judgment. Thus, Para 13 of above Rules ibid reads:

13. Judgment not legibly written.—Judgments (when not type written) should always be written in a clear and legible hand. If they are not so written, such a copy should be made and

placed on record.

Legal provisions dealing with use of language under Criminal

Procedure laws:

As per section 558 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898), the language of a criminal court has to be determined by the provincial government. The section reads:

558. Power to decide language of Courts.—The Provincial Government may determine what for the purposes of this Code, shall be deemed to be the language of each Court within the territories administered by such Government, other than the High Courts.

Lahore High Court Rules and Orders, vol. III, Chapter 1-E guides us about the:

Notification under section 558 CrPC. It reads:

Notification re, Court language.—Under the provisions of section 558, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898), the Provincial Government has declared that Urdu shall be deemed to be the language of the Criminal Courts in the Punjab.

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Section 356 CrPC is relevant. It reads:

356. Record in other cases.—(1) In trials before Courts of Session and in inquiries under Chapter XII the evidence of each witness shall be taken down in writing in the language of the Court by the Magistrate or Sessions Judge, or in his presence and hearing and under his personal direction and superintendence and shall be signed by the magistrate or Sessions Judge.

(2) Evidence Given in English.—When the evidence of such witness is given in English, the Magistrate or Sessions Judge may take it down in that language with his own hand, and, unless the accused is familiar with English, or the language of the Court is English, an authenticated translation of such evidence in the language of the Court shall form part of the record.

(2-A) When the evidence of such witness is given in any other language, not being English, than the language of the Court, the Magistrate or Sessions Judge may take it down in that language with his own hand, or cause it to be taken down in that language in his presence and hearing and under this personal direction and superintendence, and an authenticated translation of such evidence in the language of the Court or in English shall form part of the record.

(3)…

Section 357 deals with language of record of evidence. It

reads:

357. Language of record of evidence.—(1) The Provincial Government may direct that in any district or part of a district, or in proceedings before any Court of Session, or before any Magistrate or class of Magistrates the evidence of each witness shall, in the cases referred to in section 356, be taken down by the Sessions Judge or Magistrate with his own

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hand and in his mother-tongue, unless he is prevented by any sufficient reason from taking down the evidence of any witness, in which case he shall record the reason of his inability to do so and shall cause the evidence to be taken down in writing from his dictation in open court.

(2) The evidence so taken down shall be signed by the Sessions Judge or Magistrate, and shall form part of the record:

Provided that the Provincial Government may direct the Sessions Judge or Magistrate to take down the evidence in the English language or in the language of the Court, although such language is not his mother-tongue.

Section 364 CrPC deals with recording of evidence. The

relevant part reads:

364. Examination of accused how recorded.—(1) Whenever the accused is examined by any Magistrate or by any Court other than a High Court the whole of such examination, including every question put to him and every answer given by him, shall be recorded in full, in the language in which he is examined, or, if that is not practicable, in the language of the Court or in English:…

Sub-section (3) of section 364 CrPC is also relevant. It reads:

(3) In a case in which the examination of the accused is not recorded by the Magistrate or Judge himself, he shall be bound as the examination proceeds, to make memorandum thereof in the language of the Court or in English, if he is sufficiently acquainted with the latter language; and such memorandum shall be written and signed by the Magistrate or Judge with his own hand, and shall be annexed to the record. If the Magistrate or Judge is unable to make a memorandum as

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above required, he shall record the reason of such inability.

Chapter XXVI of CrPC deals with the judgment in criminal cases. Relevant parts of these provisions, where language is also discussed, are reproduced as under:

366. Mode of Delivering Judgment.—(1) The judgment in every trial in any criminal court of original jurisdiction shall be pronounced or the substance of such judgment shall be explained.—

(a)

(b) in the language of the Court, or in some other language which the accused or his pleader understands:

Section 367 CrPC specifically deals with the language of judgment. It reads:

367. Language of judgment: Contents of Judgment.—(1) Every such judgment shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code, be written by the presiding officer of the Court or from the dictation of such presiding officer in the language of the Court, or in English; and shall contain the point or points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision; and shall be dated and signed by the presiding officer in open Court at the time of pronouncing it and where it is not written by the presiding officer with his own hand, every page of such judgment shall be signed by him.

(2)….

It would be pertinent to note that in Mashoo Khan v State, 2002 PCrLJ 1478, it has been held:

―Compliance with S.367, Cr.P.C. was essential in accordance with its terms and departure therefrom was not permissible in law‖

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Legislation and the Language:

It would be interesting to note that since the British Rule in sub-continent, all the laws, rules, regulations and SROs are being promulgated and issued in English language. After the creation of Pakistan and uptill now, English language is being used for all official purposes. The State has yet to pass the laws to make Urdu as official language for all purposes.

Courts and English Language:

It would be interesting to note that even after the Constitutional provision of Article 251, as mentioned above, the Courts may use either ―language of the Court‖ or ―English‖. The above resume of the provisions from civil and criminal procedure codes and the High Court Rules and Orders, we have found that the courts can use English language for writing judgments / orders. However, there is no bar in use of ‗language of the Court‘ which in criminal cases is officially declared to be Urdu, as mentioned somewhere above. For civil courts, section 137(3) CPC clearly provides that except for recording of evidence, any other writing has to be made by the court in English language. However, LHC Rules and Orders provide that judgment may be either in ‗language of the court‘ or in English.

It has been held in Shamsuddin Ahmad v Registrar High Court of East Pakistan, PLD 1967 SC 501, as under:

Until arrangements have been made for replacement of English, rules requiring the use of English language for the conduct of official business, cannot be held to be void.

The above discussion led us to conclude that until there are clear instructions by the law to write judgments / orders in some other language, the courts have to use English language for writing judgments or orders etc.

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Role of the Courts to Write Judgments with clarity,

conciseness and brevity:

Finally, it would be relevant to mention that language being a medium to communicate the statement of reasons in a judgment to its audience needs to be used properly, effectively, and with principles of its standard use. As the judges need to use English for writing judgments, it becomes important for all of us to know the grammar, structure, syntax and style of that language to make judicial orders and judgments more clear, more concise and more to the point.

Use of literature, internet and books on English writing styles may be considered to be a regular activity of a judicial officer so that he or she is updated on modern trends in writing styles. A well written judgment also raises the status of judiciary in the eyes of public.

I am sure that the above resume of law and rules has helped us in understanding the importance and significance of English language in judicial system. The next two presentations by Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad will sensitize us on functional side of the language for its efficient and effective use in our day to day court work.

Thank you.

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PowerPoint presentation of the Director-General on

Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy

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Thereafter, Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad made his

presentation on ―Characteristics on Legal English‖

wherein he has informed the participants that legal

English is different from general English. He has

highlighted the vocabulary, sentence and discourse

structures to explain legal English and its functionalities

for judicial officers to write good English for drafting

judgment and orders etc.

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PowerPoint presentation of the Dr. Naveed on

Characteristics of Legal Language or Legalese

Angles of Investigation

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After a short tea break, the last session of the

Seminar was also conducted Dr. Naveed Ahmed wherein

the topic of this session was ―Modern Trends in Legal

English‖. In this presentation, the participant were

introduced the concept of Plain English Movement in the

USA and the United Kingdom starting from 1970. The

recourse person also explained specific tools that are used

to make the writing simple and clear. At the end the

participants were given participants exercises to make

them unable to write their judgments and orders briefly,

concisely and with clarity.

PowerPoint presentation of the Dr. Naveed on

ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING (Simplification Devices)

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Plain English Movement:-

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Question Answer Session

A brief Q&A session was also arranged for queries of

the participants regarding the topic. The Q&A session was

quite interactive and help the participants to satisfy

certain question about the topics for practical application

of the knowledge learned.

Concluding remarks by the Hon‘ble Chief Guest:

Hon‘ble Mr. Justice Shah Khawar, Judge Lahore

High Court has made the concluding remarks regarding

the Seminar. His lordship was kind enough the session

from beginning to end and even actively participated in

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the session of the Seminar. His lordship has also made

valuable comments during the proceeding of the Seminar.

The Hon‘ble Chief Guest, during his Concluding

speech, said that the vision of the Punjab Judicial

Academy to impart social context judicial education is

need of the day and relevant to the times. His lordship

appreciated that the Seminar on a very new and

innovative topic has been organized as English is used

most of the times in courts and judicial proceedings. While

tracing the history of English in subcontinent, his lordship

said that this language was a privileged language of elites

who were to rule this subcontinent as a British colony. The

British rulers have enacted laws in English, administered

justice in English and published text books on law in

English. Thus, this language still holding the field in most

of the former British colony including the present day

Pakistan. Finally, his lordship advised the judicial officers

to bring innovation in writing legal English for judgments

and orders to make it simple, plain and concise in

accordance with the guidance providence with the

resource persons of this Seminar.

The Director-General of the Academy expressed

gratitude and offer thanks to the Hon‘ble Mr. Justice Shah

Khawar for accepting the request of the Academy to be the

Chief Guest of the occasion and for remaining present

through out the proceeding of the Seminar as also for his

lordship concluding remarks and appreciation for the

Academy, Resource persons and the subject selected for

the Seminar.

The Director –General also thanked the wise

chandler of BZU Prof. Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqma for

providing an opportunity to the academy to organize this

Seminar in technical and financial collaboration with ELC,

BZU.

At the end special thank were offered to Prof. Dr.

Naveed Ahmad for his services, expertise and dedication

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to the cause of justice in terms of improving the judgment

writing skills of judicial officers through proper, modern

and use of plain English.

The Seminar ended at a dinner hosted by English

Language Center, BZU.

Evaluation of Seminar:

An Evaluation pro forma with the title ―Overall

Evaluation of Seminar on Legal English for Judges: New

Dimensions (14th November, 2014)‖ was distributed

among the participants for evaluation of the Seminar. The

pro forma is attached with this report as a ready

reference. The following is the numerical and graphic

result of the evaluation forms returned by the participants:

Numerical Chart

Graphical Chart

Topic Proposed by the Participants

Generals Comments by the Participants

Letters of Thanks:

As the Seminar was organized by the Academy in

technical and financial collaboration of BZU, therefore, it

was imperative to pay thanks to the learned Vice-

Chancellor BZU Prof. Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqama and

Director English Language Center, Department of English,

BZU Prof. Dr. Naveed Ahmad for their cooperation,

collaboration and extended courtesy towards judicial

education for the members of district judiciary Multan.

Thus, two letters bearing Nos. CD-2404 and CD-2405

were written for the purpose. They are annexed with this

Report.

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Annexure-

Seminar on Legal English for Judges: New Dimensions Organized by

THE PUNJAB JUDICIAL ACADEMY

in collaboration with

English Language Centre, Bahauddin Zakariya University

Friday, November 14, 2014

Objectives:

The objectives of the Seminar are to make judges aware

of

Linguistic Characteristics of the Language of

Law

Modern Trends in Legal English: Plain English

Movement

Practical Techniques in Simplification

Importance of English in Judgment Writing

Venue: English Language Center,

Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan

Time: 2:00-6:30pm

Chief Guest: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ibad-ur-Rehman Lodhi

Guest of Honor: Prof. Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqma

Vice-Chancellor, Bahauddin Zakariya University

Participants: 35 Judges from Multan Division nominated by the Hon’ble

Lahore High Court

Resource Persons: University Professors, Senior Instructors/Senior Judges of the

Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore and Foreign Experts (through Skype, subject to

availability)

Guests: Representatives from district judiciary, university and media

Total number of people attending the event: 50 (judges, resource persons & guests)

Organizing Committee:

1. Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi

Director General

Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore

2. Mr. Muhammad Amir Munir

Senior Instructor-II

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Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore

(Seminar Coordinator, PJA)

3. Dr. Naveed Ahmad

Director, English Language Centre


(Seminar Coordinator, ELC, BZU)

PROGRAM

Opening Ceremony: 2:00-3:30 p.m.

Reception and Registration……………………………....... 2:00-2:30

p.m.

Welcome address by Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi,

Director-General, Punjab Judicial Academy ……………… 2:30-2:40

p.m.

Description of Seminar Objectives by Conference Coordinator,

Dr. Naveed Ahmad, Director, English Language Center,

Bahauddin Zakariya University ……………………….….. 2:40-2:50

p.m.

Address by the Guest of Honor………………………..….. 2:50-3:00pm

Address by the Chief Guest ……..…………………......… 3:00-3:10

p.m.

Group Photo……………………………………………… 3:10-3:15pm

Tea……………………………………………………….. 3:15-3:30pm

Session I: 3:30-4:00 p.m. Topic: Significance of English in Judgment Writing: Law and Policy

Resource Person: Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi, Director General, Punjab

Judicial Academy, Lahore

Objective: To make the participants aware of the significance of English in

writing orders/ judgments.

Description:

The importance of English language in administration of justice is reflective of

the fact that all the laws and legal documents are written in English. Thus courts

use English language as one of the means/modes to deliver judgments. This

session will sensitize participants on the issue for improving their skill in writing

good English.

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Session-II: 4:00-4:30 p.m.

Topic: Characteristic of Legal English

Resource Person: Dr. Naveed Ahmad, Director, English Language Center,


Objective: To make the participants aware of the specific characteristics of legal

English which are different form General English.

Description: The focus of this session will be to inform how legal English is

different from General English (GE): What are the specific features of legal

English that make it distinct from GE? In this context, different levels will be

taken under consideration: vocabulary, sentence and discourse structures etc. To

establish the differences, accounts of the world renowned linguists will be

quoted. The last part of the session will be in the form of a discussion

(questions/answers).

Session III: 4:30-6:00 p.m. Topic: Modern Trends in Legal English

Resource Person: Dr. Naveed Ahmad, Director, English Language Center,


Objective: to make the participants aware of modern trends in legal English and

providing the participants practice session to implement modern techniques in

their productions

Description: In this session, modern trends in legal English will be introduced

focusing on Plain English Movement that started in the USA and the UK back in

the 1970s. By present time, the movement’s effects are visible in the developed

countries as simplification devices are taught in institutions of legal education in

the USA and the UK so that future lawyers and judges could adopt this style.

Moreover, senior professionals in the field of law also learn these devices. After

giving a brief introduction of the Plain English Movement will explain the

specific tools that are used to make writing simple and clear. Further, practical

exercises will be conducted to make judges enable to write their judgments in the

light of modern trends in legal English. The session will have a 10 minutes tea-

break in between.

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CONCLUDING CEREMONY:

Closing Remarks by the Chief Guest……………………. 6:00-6:10 pm

Distribution of Certificates……………………………… 6:10-6:30 pm

Vote of Thanks by the Director General, PJA

Vote of Thanks by the Director, English Language Center, BZU

Dinner: 6:30-7:00 p.m.

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