LANGUAGE OF LAW LANGUAGE OF LAW By Taki Ahmed Khan of Lincoln's Inn Barrister at-Law It is a mistake to study law in isolation. It is intimately entwined with other human activities like economy, history, religion, tradition, culture and politics. Laws of England are no exception. Anglo Saxon laws were the codes of customary laws of Shires of England. They were Dooms of Ethelbert, Dooms of Alfred and Dooms of Cnut which were all written in Anglo Saxon Vernacular. As Christianity planted its feet in British Island, Latin which was the language of whole of Christendom entered into British language, culture and literature. The Churchmen established their ecclestical courts where the business was transacted in Latin. In 1066 C.E. William, the Conqueror defeated and dethroned Edward the confessor, who was the last Anglo Saxon King. The Conqueror replaced Anglo Saxon language with Norman French and Latin. The Continental legal ideas permeated the English Institutions. The Latin caught the fancy of the educated classes. The lawyers avidly studied Justinian's Code of Civil Law. The writs were issued in court-hand which was Latin. In 1216 C.E. Bractus wrote his great book on English Law, Tractatus De Legebus Angliae in Latin. The Register of writs kept by the King's order was maintained in Latin. During 12th and 13th Centuries, Latin was the official language of law in English Courts. Upper classes, however, expressed themselves in French; English was used by lower classes. The court records were kept in Latin but arguments in courts were addressed in French. In 14th century, Latin began to give way to French and French to English. After 1362 C.E. the oral arguments in courts were conducted in English. In reign of Richard III, the first Statute was enacted in English language. The change from Latin to French and from French to English was not without pangs of transformation. Fortescue-J writing in 1470 applauded the use of French in law courts "The pleaders do more properly express in French than in English as declarations upon original words cannot be pronounced so agreeably to the nature of those writs as in French." The change of language of law, however, had set in. In the late 14th Century, petitions were presented in English and English petition was sometimes put upon the Roll without being translated. In 1731 C.E. the Parliament abrogated the use of Latin and court-hand. The complete changeover came in the last half of 15th century when law began to be written in English tongue. Cook (1552-1644), worshiped English Law, which he called the perfection of reason. Coke elucidated Littleton on Land Law in English language. Sir Mathew Hale (1609-1676) wrote his History of Common Law in English. Blackstone wrote his commentaries in 1765 in English. Latin and French have, however, left deep and extensive influence on legal English language. The prerogative writs even now carry their Latin names; Habeas Corpus, Qua Warranto, Certiorari etc. all evoke historical connexion of English law with Latin language. The French legal vocabulary is also extensive in English legal parlance; Suit, indictment, court, Judge, damage, pardon etc. etc. are words of French origin which are in common use in court in England. In recent years, the judicial pronouncements have condemned the use of high sounding Latin of little content. May L.J. said in the case 'Fryer Vs. Pearson and another' (All England Official Transcripts 1997-2008) "It is not, I hope, just affectation which leads me to believe that we should stop using unhelpful Latin phrases. It troubles me that we still tend to fall into the habit of talking about Maxims or doctrines which go under labels in Latin whose meaning does not express a defined principle, and which those for whose benefit we operate will probably not understand". Language which is the vehicle of thought and symbol of natural aspirations could no longer be seen as English if it was ridden with irksome Latin phrases. Time had come to purify it of obsolete outlandish vocabulary. Lord Woolf in Civil Procedure Rules, 1998 showed red card to phrases such as guardian ad-litem, in-camera ex-parte, plaintiff, and writ. Alternate words have been introduced in the following manner:- Guardian ad litem = litigation friend, In-camera = in private, Ex-parte = without notice, Plaintiff = claimant and Writ = claim form. The Master of Rolls in England has expressed himself in his "Acess of Justice" in the following manner:-- "The System of Civil Justice and the Rules which govern it must be broadly comprehensible not only to circle of initiates but to non-professional advisors and as far as possible, to ordinary people of average ability who are unlikely to have more than a single encounter with the system". The battle of Plassy was fought on 23rd June, 1758 when British defeated Siraj-ud-Daula, the Governor of Bengal. After their victory, the British took over the control of the provincial administration. The new rulers brought with them a strange language, alien habits and a culture which looked down upon Eastern way of thinking and oriental traditions. The new rulers were quick to replace Persian which for centuries had been language of law and literature in India. Persian provided link between Muslim States of Central Asia and Middle East. The expulsion of Persian language from Indian law and life cut off the free movement of ideas and cultural traditions which spanned over centuries. The policy and purpose for this change was set down by Thomas Babington, Macaulay (1800- 1859) when in 1835 in his Minute of Indian Education he said; "It is impossible for us with our limited means to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion in morals and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects in terms of science borrowed from Western Nomenclature and render them by degrees fit vehicle of conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population." Those who succumbed to Macaulay's Scheme came to be called Macaulay's children. They disdained their own cultural values and mimicked the English way of life. They under the aegis of British rule multiplied. In courts, arguments came to be addressed in English. The litigant who mostly came from villages could not understand what was being said by their lawyer or the Judge. When the litigants were handed down the judgment, it too was unintelligible to them. The lawmen in India used Latin maxims to show off their scholarships which interspersed with technical legal words made the matters worse for the laymen. The British left India in 1947 and independent dominions of Pakistan and Bharat emerged which are the successor States of Mughal Empire. Bharat for its peculiar socio political reasons could not opt for Persian or Urdu as its official language but Pakistan is religiously and culturally successor to Muslim rule in India. Its Constitution provided; "The national language of Pakistan is Urdu and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day." The commencing day was 12th April, 1973. Our courts still conduct their business in English. Litigants still scratch their heads to understand if their lawyers were meaningfully convessing their case. The use of Latin in the judgments rendered by our courts makes them difficult even for a well educated person. The distance between the life and law is widening. The English courts have discarded the use of Latin and French but we relish the use of Latin maxims. The English when they ruled India were happy to keep the caste system intact rather they created a new elite caste which showed their conviction that English language was inherently superior to their own. This class even now argues as did Fortescue in 1470 in favour of French language as court language that English is better suited to law as technical terms cannot be so agreeably changed into Urdu. English Judges and lawyers with determined efforts replaced French with English and why we in Pakistan cannot do the same in favour of Urdu. Every nation is proud of its language, culture and history. President Charles De Gaulle of France lived for the whole period of Second World War in England but never expressed himself in English. Chinese, Iranians, Germans speak their own tongues in law courts and in international forums and they are not poorer for that. Law is the point where life and logic meet. If the courts habitually use an alien language, which the common man cannot understand, both the law and the language will tend to lose touch with common life. "The national language of Pakistan is Urdu and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day." The commencing day was 12th April, 1973. Our courts still conduct their business in English. Litigants still scratch their heads to understand if their lawyers were meaningfully convessing their case. The use of Latin in the judgments rendered by our courts makes them difficult even for a well educated person. The distance between the life and law is widening. The English courts have discarded the use of Latin and French but we relish the use of Latin maxims. The English when they ruled India were happy to keep the caste system intact rather they created a new elite caste which showed their conviction that English language was inherently superior to their own. This class even now argues as did Fortescue in 1470 in favour of French language as court language that English is better suited to law as technical terms cannot be so agreeably changed into Urdu. English Judges and lawyers with determined efforts replaced French with English and why we in Pakistan cannot do the same in favour of Urdu. Every nation is proud of its language, culture and history. President Charles De Gaulle of France lived for the whole period of Second World War in England but never expressed himself in English. Chinese, Iranians, Germans speak their own tongues in law courts and in international forums and they are not poorer for that. Law is the point where life and logic meet. If the courts habitually use an alien language, which the common man cannot understand, both the law and the language will tend to lose touch with common life.