English as the medium of legal transactions in India
LUG-105 English and Legal Language, Unit I: English as a medium of communication for legal transactions in India. · LLB · 60 min
The law on the language of law in India: Articles 343 to 351 in outline and Article 348 clause by clause, s. 137 CPC and the BNSS provision for the subordinate courts, s. 7 of the Official Languages Act 1963, the position of the Bar Council and the law schools, and the Supreme Court's translation of judgments. Then the balance sheet - the advantages of English (precedent, uniformity, technical vocabulary, international practice) and its challenges (access, the litigant who cannot read his own judgment, translation errors, the regional languages) - and the lawyer's duty to communicate legal concepts to non-lawyers through plain language, Lok Adalat and legal aid.
"English is a medium of legal language in India. Elucidate" has been asked in 2018-19, 2022-23 and 2025-26; the advantages and challenges in 2024-25; communicating with non-legal audiences in 2023-24.
Objectives
- State the constitutional and statutory provisions on the language of the courts and of legislation (Articles 343-351, s. 137 CPC, the BNSS, the Official Languages Act 1963).
- Explain what "English as the medium of legal communication" means in practice at each level of the system.
- Weigh the advantages of English in the Indian legal system against its challenges.
- Describe the challenges of communicating legal concepts to non-legal audiences and the ways to meet them.
- Write the 7-mark answer "English is a medium of legal language in India. Elucidate."
Slides
- What "English as the medium of legal transactions" means
- Articles 343 to 351 in outline
- Article 348 clause by clause
- The subordinate courts: s. 137 CPC, the BNSS and the Uttarakhand position
- The Bar, the law schools and the Supreme Court's translation project
- Advantages of English in the Indian legal system
- Challenges of English in the Indian legal system
- Communicating legal concepts to non-lawyers: the challenges
- Meeting the challenges: plain language, Lok Adalat, legal aid
- A worked answer in outline: "English is a medium of legal language in India. Elucidate."
- How the examiner asks it
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