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Syllabus Legal Language

The course 'Legal Language' aims to equip first-year law students with the necessary skills to understand and use the formal language of the law, including legal maxims and case law. Students will learn to interpret statutes, comprehend legal concepts, and effectively search for case laws. The curriculum includes modules on legal concepts, law reports, legislative materials, and rules of statutory interpretation, supported by suggested readings for further study.

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27 views5 pages

Syllabus Legal Language

The course 'Legal Language' aims to equip first-year law students with the necessary skills to understand and use the formal language of the law, including legal maxims and case law. Students will learn to interpret statutes, comprehend legal concepts, and effectively search for case laws. The curriculum includes modules on legal concepts, law reports, legislative materials, and rules of statutory interpretation, supported by suggested readings for further study.

Uploaded by

pritikosambia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PROGRAM: 5yr/3 Yr.

Professional Law
First-year BLS LL B/LLB
Semester: V/I

Course Title-: LEGAL LANGUAGE


Course Code: Credits: 4

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The Course aims at training students for the legal profession from the perspective of
language of the law and its interpretation and enabling them to get familiar with concepts
and principles of law. This course will equip students to become familiar with the formalized
and professional language which is used in the Court of Law. They will be able to understand
the meaning and application of legal Maxims in written and oral submissions advanced
before the Courts. This course intends to train the students in reading, intellectually
understanding and citing cases. The students will acquire expertise in comprehending the
abbreviation of Law Reports and search of case laws in the relevant Law Reports and e-data
bases. The students will be well versed in the study of precedents with relation to case laws
involving matters of public importance, decided by the various Courts.
COURSE OUTCOMES:

After completing this course, the students will be able to


1) Get accustomed to the language of the Court and with the e legal concepts.
2) Search the case laws with ease.
3) Understand the application of Legal Maxims.
4) Understand the use of Law Reports.

5) Read and understand statute and its classification


6) Use the precedents in the litigation.

MODULE 1:

1. Legal Concepts –
 Law,
 Custom,
 Justice,
 Right,
 Duty,
 Wrong,
 Remedy,
 Fact,
 Person,
 Offence,
 State,
 Plaint,
 Complaint,
 Suit,
 Affidavit,
 Judgment,
 Appeal,
 Review,
 Revision,
 Reference,
 Writ,
 Stay Order,
 Injunction,
 Adjournment,
 Cause of Action,
 Issue,
 Charge,
 Bail,
 Ex-Parte,
 Discharge,
 Acquittal,
 Conviction,
 Legal heirs,
 Legal Representative,
 Power of Attorney,
 International Law,
 Arbitration,
 Jurisdiction,
 Amicus Curiae.

1.2 Legal Maxims –


 Actus de nemini facit injuriam
 Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex
 Nemo Tenetur Sepisum Accusare
 Leges postpriores priores contrarias abrogant
 Nova constituito futris formam imponere debet non praetertis.
 Noscitur a sociis
 Expressio unis est exclusio alterius
 Vigilantibus, non domientibus, jura subveniunt
 Quod ab initio non valet in tractu temporis non convalesscit
 Nullus commodum capere potest de injuria sua propria
 Cessante retione legis cessat ipsa lex
 Acta exteriora indicant interiora secreta
 Domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium
 Nemo est haeres viventis
 Ignorantia facti excusat, ignorantia lex non excusat

MODULE 2:
2.1 Law Reports, Magazines and References to Case Laws

 Law Reports
 Law Magazines
 Explanation of citations
 The search of a case law
 Abbreviations of law Reports

2.2 Statutes (Enactments) - Meaning and Classification

2.3 Commencement of Statutes- Prospective application, Retrospective effect, Repeal of


Statutes, Provisions dealing with repeal under the General Clauses Act.

2.4 General English:

 Essay writing,
 comprehension, and
 rules of grammar Active-passive, direct and indirect speech, degrees of comparison,
kinds of sentences- interrogative, exclamatory, imperative, assertive, positive, and
negative, Question tags.
MODULE 3:
3.1 Legislative Material
Internal Aids -Parts of a statute and their function in interpretation of a statute – Short and
long titles, preamble, schedules, marginal headings, parts, and their captions, chapters and
their captions, marginal and section-headings, Definition‘s clause and types of definitions,
Explanations, exceptions, illustrations, and provisos, Language, and punctuation, non-
obstante clause and saving clause.
External Aids - External Aids to the interpretation of a statute – Dictionaries, Translations,
Travaux Preparatiories, Statutes in pari materia, Contemporanea Exposito, Debates, and
Reports.

3.2 Judicial material – Ratio and guidelines of courts in the following cases, minority, and
majority judgements:

 D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal - AIR1997 SC610


 M.C. Mehta V. Union of India - AIR1987SC965
 Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan - AIR1997SC3011
 Joseph Shine v. Union of India - AIR2018SC4898
 Aruna Shanbaug v. Union of India – AIR2011SC1290
 Young Lawyers Association v. the State of Kerala – AIR2018SC1690

MODULE 4:

4.1 Rules of interpretation of Statutes – Literal, Mischief and Golden rule of interpretation
Secondary Rules or Subsidiary Rules of Interpretation- Noscitur a Sociis, Ejusdem Generis,
Reddando Singula Singulis, Interpretation with reference to the subject matter and purpose
– Restrictive and beneficial construction, Taxing statutes, Penal statutes and Welfare
legislation, Interpretation of directory and mandatory provisions, Interpretation of
substantive and adjunctively statutes.

4.2 Presumptions in Statutory interpretation – Statutes are valid, Statutes are territorial in
operation, Presumption as to jurisdiction, Presumption against what is inconvenient or
absurd, Presumption against intending injustice, Presumption against impairing obligations
or permitting advantage from one‘s own wrong.

4.3 General Clauses Act, 1897


SUGGESTED READINGS:

1. Legal language and Legal Writing by Prof D.K. Shukla.


2. Legal Language and Legal Writing by Prof. Dr. K.L.Bhatia.
3. G.P Singh, Principles of Statutory Interpretation
4. Golden Legal Maxims by Maxwell
5. Broom‘s Legal Maxims, Lexus Nexis

6. Law Lexicon
7. Latin words, phrases, and maxims by R. S. Vasant
8. Maxwell on Interpretation of Statutes.
9. N.S. Bindra‘s Interpretation of Statutes
10. V. Sarthy, Interpretation of Statutes

11. Avatar Singh Interpretation of Statutes


12. Dr. Shrikant Mishra‘s Legal Language and Legal Writing
13. Wren and Martin, English Grammar

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