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Judgments in Regional Languages - Coggle Diagram
Judgments in Regional Languages
Context
We must understand that the language which we use namely English, is a language which is not comprehensible, particularly in its legal avatar, to 99.9% of our citizens, said CJI.
The judgments delivered by the Supreme Court will now be translated into four languages —Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and Odia
English language
in Indian Judiciary
Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat were established at Allahabad.
He made the Persian and a Vernacular language for the court proceeding in lower court
Under him, the four Circuit Courts were abolished
He made English language as official language for Supreme Court proceeding.
Lord William Bentinck transformed judicial functioning in India
CJI pitches for judgements
in regional languages
State-wide translations
Expert committee under Justice Abhay Oka
AI-based translation with physical monitoring
Why such move?
Legal language complexities ex. shall vs. must
Ridiculed tendency of legal professionals both lawyers and judges to write often long and complex sentences
Use of Latin, and sometimes French, words, and phrases to express a rule, principle, doctrine
Use of obsolete, archaic or old English words
Why is English such prominent
legal language in India?
Pan-India use of English
Creating cohesiveness
Codified laws and legal system
Ease of legal education
Better than legacy languages like persian/sanskrit
Need for such reform
Removing language barriers
Create law abiding citizens
Promoting multilingualism
Creating awareness
Various provisions for
regional languages
Official Language Act, 1963: Hindi or official language of a State
Law Commission of India: 18th Law Commission Report
Article 348 (2) : indi language or any other language
Demand from various States
Article 348(1) provides for English language
Way forward
Legislatures should use short sentences with adequate punctuation
Use of Latin and French phrases should be abandoned
Laws must be written in non-technical terms
Use of obsolete archaic English words should be avoided
Laws written by the legislatures can be made understandable to average laymen as well as to the legal professional