Michael S.

BOYD

ENGLISH
FOR LAW
Theory and practice

I edizione
2018
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 AUTHOR’S FOREWORD

The la guage of the la i E glish-speaki g ou t ies has lo g ee a stu li g

lo k fo oth ati e a d fo eig speake s. We e el ha e to look at a o t a t
o li e e, e e fo the ost asi of se i es, to ake us uestio ou a ilit to
u de sta d E glish legal la guage i use. To help us to o e o e the li its of
u de sta di g, e ight p ofita l o side la guage f o t o o ple e ta
poi ts of ie : those of for a d fu c io . While for o espo ds to the a tual
st u tu e of o ds a d ph ases, fu c io o e s the a that a e a ple of
la guage is used i o te t, o athe , la guage i use. I fa t, it is ot e ough just
to look at the a a spe ifi o d o e p essio is used i a e a ple, ut e also
eed to o side how su h la guage is used i o te t: i.e. hethe it is spoke ,
itte , fo al, i fo al, used i ou t, i itte legislatio , a o t a t a d so
o . These a e just so e of the issues e ight o side he looki g at legal
la guage i use. Fo a e a ple of a o t a t, let’s take o e of those soft a e
ag ee e ts o li e es that e e ou te he e de ide to update ou
s a tpho e o laptop o pute to the latest e sio . Ho ofte do e a tuall
ead su h do u e ts a d, i po ta tl , if e do, ho u h do e a tuall
u de sta d? Belo e a see o e sho t pa ag aph f o a -page “oft a e
Li e se Ag ee e t fo the o pute used the ite hile o posi g the
p ese t o k:

[…] A. The Apple soft a e i ludi g Boot ROM ode , a thi d pa t

soft a e, do u e tatio , i te fa es, o te t, fo ts a d a data
a o pa i g this Li e se hethe p ei stalled o Apple- a ded
ha d a e, o disk, i ead o l e o , o a othe edia o i a
othe fo olle ti el the Apple “oft a e a e li e sed, ot sold, to ou
Apple I . Apple fo use o l u de the te s of this Li e se. Apple
a d/o Apple’s li e so s etai o e ship of the Apple “oft a e itself a d
ese e all ights ot e p essl g a ted to ou. You ag ee that the te s of
this Li e se ill appl to a Apple- a ded appli atio soft a e p odu t
that a e p ei stalled o ou Apple- a ded ha d a e, u less su h
p odu t is a o pa ied a sepa ate li e se, i hi h ase ou ag ee that
the te s of that li e se ill go e ou use of that p odu t…

What fi st st ikes the eade is p o a l the le gth of the fi st se te e

o ds . Yet it is ot just the u e of o ds i this se te e, ut also the use of

http://i ages.apple. o /legal/sla/do s/ a O“ .pdf

VII
 oth oordination a , or a d su ordination whe her hi h eates a athe
o ple s ta ti st u tu e. The o ds used a e oth legal a d te h i al, hi h is
ot su p isi g as e a e deali g ith a legal ag ee e t fo o pute soft a e,
a d ould p o a l ot eate a p o le s i o p ehe sio fo ost
eade s. Ho e e , if e look at so e of the o ds e ight o de hat e a tl
the do u e t is efe i g to. Fo e a ple, hat is ea t ocu e a io ,
i erfaces a d co e ? If e look up the o ds i a di tio a the ea i gs a e
ot diffi ult to u de sta d, ut hat e a tl is ei g efe ed to i this do u e t
a d h has the autho de ided to use oth ocu e a io a d co e , he
the appea e si ila i ea i g? I additio , although a s hola s ha e
oted that legal E glish is ha a te ized a la k of pe so al p o ou s i p i ate
do u e ts su h as o t a ts, i this ase e fi d ou/ our used si ti es. The e
appea s to e a lea - ut atte pt the ite s of the do u e t to add ess
di e tl , a d also pe haps, e gage the eade , o the pe so ho is sig i g the
ag ee e t i.e. the lice see . Does this ea that this is ot a t pi al e a ple of
legal E glish? Of ou se, it does ot. O the o t a , it ea s the e a e a
diffe e t t pes genres of legal te ts that e e ou te o a dail asis. While
a of the a e o ple a d a halle ge the la pe so , thei o ple it
a a g eatl .
The goal of this ook is to i g i to fo us oth the o ple it a d the a iet of
legal E glish. I o de to do this, ho e e , e also eed to look at so e of the
easo s fo these pe ulia ities f o a li guisti a d histo i al poi t of ie f o a
li guisti a d histo i al poi t of ie . Thus, to etu to the e e pt f o the
li e se ag ee e t a o e, the t pe of te t e a e deali g ith is a spe ifi a ea of
p i ate la : the la of o t a t, e e plified the soft a e ag ee e t, is a
o t a t et ee the selle a d u e o use of the soft a e. Thus, hat ight
appea to the a e age eade as useless epetitio , is e essa due to the atu e
of o t a t la i the U ited “tates a d othe o o la ju isdi tio s. I fa t,
su h o t a ts de o st ate the o e hel i g i po ta e of ase la so- alled
inding pre edent o e itte la statutory la i o o la ju isdi tio s
he e the e is

[ ]o ge e al legislatio of a ki d pe e pto o au ilia e its defi i g

the legal situatio of the pa ties to a o t a t. I o se ue e, the pa ties
ha e to use the o t a t itself to add ess e e possi le situatio that ould
take pla e i the futu e ith the oppo tu it to efe to itte la .
Mattila, , p.

lice se is the A e i a spelli g, a d lice ce is the B itish spelli g, ut lice see is used i oth
a ia ts.
VIII
 It is the efo e the pa ti ula aspe ts of A glo-A e i a o o la that
p o ide the ed o k to defi i g the la guage a d st le of a te t su h as a
soft a e ag ee e t. Co se ue tl , i o de to u de sta d su h do u e ts e
eed to look at the li guisti , st listi a d e e histo i al aspe ts of legal
la guage.
This ook ai s to i t odu e Italia stude ts of la , legal p a titio e s a d
lea e s i te ested i legal E glish to so e of the ost i po ta t featu es of the
E glish a d A e i a legal s ste s, a d the la guage the use th ough a
app oa h that is oth theo eti al a d p a ti al. As e ha e see f o the sho t
e a ple a o e, e also eed to u de sta d hat akes legal E glish spe ial a d,
to a e tai e te t, ho su h featu es a e a out. This ook, the efo e, takes a
i o ati e app oa h to the su je t. I Pa t I, e egi ith a theo eti al
e pla atio of the easo s fo the o ple ities of ode legal E glish a d so e
of its ost pe ti e t featu es, fo usi g o oth li guisti aspe ts a d st listi
o es. The ai is to p o ide lea e s ith a so t of tool o that ill e of
assista e he fa i g a u fa ilia legal te t. I Chapte e e a i e the
status of legal E glish as a li guisti a iet a d o side the i po ta e of
diffe e t ge es i legal E glish i t odu i g so e atego izatio s of diffe e t
legal te t t pologies. I doi g so, the ook also e a es a u e of i po ta t
ideas f o the field of o pus li guisti s, hi h allo us, th ough the use of
spe iall de eloped soft a e, to e a i e la ge ua tities of te t a orpus i
o de to test the eal- o ld use of a la guage a d dis o e patte s of use of
la guage. I Chapte e i t odu e so e legal la guage o po a, dis uss ho
the a e used i the stud of legal E glish a d p o ide a o pus-assisted ase
stud ega di g the po t a al of Italia i i al la i the B itish a d A e i a
p ess. Chapte p o ides a o pe diu of the ai featu es of legal E glish. We
look at spe ifi e a ples of legal la guage a d t to ake se se of thei
dist i utio . The hapte also fo uses o so e of the ost i po ta t aspe ts of
o o la i o pa iso to o ti e tal i il la , so e pe ti e t diffe e es
et ee legal Italia a d E glish, a ious featu es of EU legal la guage a d a
li guisti su a of t o i po ta t ge es: t ials a d o t a ts.
The se o d pa t of the ook is a ked a p a ti al app oa h to legal issues i
the A glo-A e i a t aditio . Ea h of these u its is ased o a spe ifi aspe t of
the A glo-A e i a s ste , hi h a e studied alo gside the a ious la guage
skills eadi g, o a ula , g a a , te t ohesio , liste i g e essa fo the
ode la guage lea e . To this effe t, the e a e eadi g o p ehe sio
a ti ities ased o authe ti te ts ega di g the issues aised a d thei
appli atio s, as ell as g a a e pla atio s a d e e ises, o a ula uildi g
a ti ities that a se e as the asis fo fu the de elop e t of speaki g a d

IX
 iti g. The u its i Pa t II o tai diffe e t t pes of e e ises so that lea e s a
p a ti e the e o a ula a d g a a that had ee studied. This p a ti al
se tio should e used i ta de ith Pa t I of the ook, hi h should also e
used as a efe e e fo the g a a a d o a ula poi ts that a e i t odu ed i
the p a ti al u its. The ai legal te s a e defi ed, t a slated a d p o ided ith
e a ples i the Glossa .
This olu e is the f uit of a ea s of o ki g a d olla o ati g ith legal
p a titio e s i Ital a d i Eu ope. I ha e had the pleasu e of o ki g ith
judges, p ose uto s, la e s a d la stude ts, ho ha e i t odu ed e to a d
illu i ated e i the i t i a ies a d o ple ities of the la a d ha e also helped
e to fo us i te ests i la guage a d li guisti s ithi the a ious a eas of
la . Fi stl , I ould like to e p ess g atitude to all of fo e a d p ese t
stude ts of legal E glish fo thei patie e, i tellige e a d ope ess i
e a i g hate e t pe of e e ise a d a ti it that I th e at the . “e o dl , I
e p ess si e e g atitude to the a olleagues o ki g i the legal p ofessio s I
ha e had the pleasu e of o ki g ith i Ital a d a oad. I a espe iall
i de ted to A to ella Ci iello, Ca e Do uta, Caloge o Fe a a, Gio a a
I hi o, Lu a Pe illi, Raffaele “a ato, Re e a “pitz ille , Isa el Wal au
Ro i so , Noah Va di a d a othe s, ho a e too u e ous to a e he e. I
tha k the all fo the a hou s the ha e spe t patie tl a d i tellige tl
illust ati g to e the fi e poi ts of la a d the i po ta t diffe e es i the
la guage a d legal s ste s of Ital a d of E gla d a d the U ited “tates. The
p epa atio of this olu e ould ot ha e ee possi le ithout the igo ous
i put a d fi e-tu ed editi g skills of Pete Douglas, Che ll Ha iso a d Re e a
“pitz ille , ho spe t hou s eadi g o e the a us ipt i its a ious fo s o e
the last fe o ths. Thei o e ts a d iti is s helped to ake this olu e
hat it is, ut a istakes o sho t o i gs that e ai a e of ou se o .
Fi all , a spe ial o d of tha ks goes out to those ho suppo ted e a d pushed
e to fi ish this o k e e th ough the ost diffi ult ti es, f ie ds a d
fa il , a d espe iall Paola Buo istia o a d Ve a Mitiu i h-Khle iko a, ho
ha e al a s ee the e fo e, a d, last ut ot least, Massi ilia o To aso
Rezza, ho has al a s stood eside e a d le t e his a e, suppo t a d
i tellige e i all of e dea ou s a d ithout ho this o k ould e e
ha e see the light.

Ro ase a, Fe ua Mi hael “. BOYD

X
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
THEORY

I t odu tio .

CHAPTER I
A TOOLBOX FOR THE STUDY OF LEGAL ENGLISH

I t odu tio .
. What is legal E glish?
. Ge es i legal E glish.

CHAPTER II
UNDERSTANDING LEGAL ENGLISH THROUGH CORPORA

. What is Co pus Li guisti s?

. Co po a fo the stud of legal E glish.
. Case stud : Rep ese ti g Italia i i al p o edu e i the
A glo-A e i a p ess.

CHAPTER III
FEATURES OF LEGAL ENGLISH

I t odu tio .
. Le i al featu es of legal E glish.
Legal ho o s.
Te h i al legal le is.
Legal Lati is s.
“ho t fo s, p ope a es a d ja go .
. Othe featu es of legal E glish.
Bi o ials a d t i o ials.
P o o i al ad e s.
P o ou s i legal E glish.
Ve s.
“uffi pai s: Lessee s. lesso .
“ ta ti a d dis ou se featu es of legal E glish.
XI
 . “o e diffe e e et ee U“ a d E glish legal use.
. “o e aspe ts of EU legal E glish.
. False f ie ds.
. The la guage of o o la a d the ou t oo .
. “o e featu es of p i ate la do u e ts.

PART II
PRACTICAL UNITS

UNIT I
TALKING ABOUT THE LAW

UNIT II
STUDYING THE LAW

UNIT III
WORKING WITH THE LAW

UNIT IV
SOURCES OF LAW

UNIT V
THE STRUCTURE OF THE COURT SYSTEMS

UNIT VI
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LAW

UNIT VII
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PROCEEDINGS

UNIT VIII
CIVIL PROCEDURE

UNIT IX
TORTS

UNIT X
CONTRACT LAW
XII
UNIT XI
JUDGES, PROSECUTORS AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE
COURTROOM

UNIT XII
EU LAW

ANSWER KEY

GLOSSARY

REFERENCES

INDEX

XIII
PART I
THEORY
 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

a guage is e iu , rocess a ro uc i he
arious are as of he law where legal e s,
s o e or wri e , are ge era e i he ser ice of
regula i g social eha iour Male ,

The fi st uestio o e ight ask is h do e eed a e ook a out legal

E glish? The e a e a ooks al ead a aila le o the a ket, so h do e
eed a othe , a d hat akes this ook diffe e t? C u iall , this olu e ai s to
fo us o oth the theo eti al a p a ti al aspe ts of legal E glish, ased o the
assu ptio that oth aspe ts a e i teg al to lea i g. Fi st, e eed to fo us o
e tai featu es of a la guage – o i this ase the a iet of legal E glish, hi h
as oted i the uote a o e is ediu , p o ess a d p odu t of the la a d
legal te ts – fo usi g o its li guisti , st listi , histo i al a d so ietal
ha a te isti s. Fu the o e, e e a e the ie i this ook that la guage is
ot o l a p odu t of so iet a d its histo , ut that it also pla s a ole i shapi g
the o ld e li e i . This is espe iall t ue of legal E glish, hi h i a a s is
diffe e t f o sta da d E glish.
Take, fo e a ple, the setti g of the ou t oo i E gla d a d the U ited
“tates . It is uite lea f o the outset that e a e deali g ith spe ial’
i u sta es f o the a that the judge is d essed ea i g a go o o e
a d, i E gla d a d Wales, also a ig , to the a that the oo is set up, ith
the judge at the f o t a d the a ious pa ties a a ged o diffe e t sides of the
oo to st ess the fa t that i the A glo-A e i a s ste a t ial is ad ersarial i
atu e. The ju , if p ese t, also has a spe ial pla e to sit, usuall at the side so
the a follo the p o eedi gs f o all pe spe ti es. Yet, the s e e is also
ha a te ized spe ial uses of la guage. As oted Tie s a , p. ,i a
ou t oo e al fo ulas a d itualisti o ds put the audie e o oti e that
this is a p o eedi g ith i po ta t o se ue es, goi g so fa as to o pa e
su h p a ti es to a eligious se i e. We ill look at the la guage of t ials a d
ou t oo s i o e detail i Chapte , ut hat is i po ta t to st ess he e is
that oth the pa ti ipa ts a d those at hi g the p o eedi gs u de sta d the
sig ifi a e of oth the o - e al a d e al ele e ts that o p ise a t ial.

I this ook fo the ost pa t e ill e efe i g to the E glish athe tha the B itish s ste ,
as oth the “ ottish a d No the I ish legal s ste s a e uite diffe e t f o the o e used i
E gla d a d Wales. “i ila l , the U ited “tates legal s ste a tuall diffe s f o state to state,
although these diffe e es a e e o d the s ope of the p ese t olu e.
 PART I – THEORY

Fu the o e, the la guage used i the ou t oo is defi ed a e te al

fa to s – histo i al, so ietal, ultu al, to a e a fe – a d has ee fo ged o e
hu d eds of ea s oth i E gla d a d su se ue tl i pla es that e e o igi all
B itish olo ies, su h as the U ited “tates, Aust alia, Ne )eala d, I dia, Ca ada,
et .
“e o d, a of the te t ooks of legal E glish a aila le i Ital li it thei fo us
to eadi g a d t a slati g o a ula , a d et it is ell k o that lea i g a
la guage ea s that lea e s ust e o e o pete t ot just i eadi g a d
t a slati g. A app oa h to lea i g legal E glish should also i lude the othe
skills of speaki g, liste i g a d iti g, hile fo usi g o authe ti , eal- o ld
te ts a d la guage use. This ook, the efo e, atte pts to add ess a of the
skills i la guage lea i g: g a a a d o a ula skills, eadi g
o p ehe sio , liste i g o p ehe sio , hi h a e all ased o authe ti
ate ials o i g f o oth the U ited Ki gdo a d the U ited “tates.
Fu the o e, as e shall see, although legal E glish has a u e of disti ti e
featu es it is ased o ge e al E glish. As oted Tie s a , p.
ode legal E glish is a set of li guisti featu es that a e supe i posed o
e e da spee h. Thus, hile the ook fo uses o legal E glish te ts a d the
featu es that ake the look a d sou d o e legalese, this ook ill also e ie
so e of the ai featu es of E glish g a a a d o a ula as legal E glish
a ot e lea t ithout k o i g the ules of ge e al E glish.
Thi d, i light of the fa t that legal E glish eeds to e studied i its ide
o te t, this ook de elops a o pus-assisted app oa h to its stud . Co pus
li guisti s is a a h of li guisti s that is i te ested i the stud of la ge odies of
te t that o p ise a orpus plu al: orpora ith the aid of o pute soft a e.
“u h soft a e a help us to u de sta d the patte s of o-o u e e i
la guage th ough so- alled f e ue lists, ke o d lists, o o da es a d
ollo atio s. Although e ill look at hat these te s ea i detail i Chapte
togethe ith so e spe ifi e a ples of the appli atio s of o pus li guisti s to
legal E glish, he e e should st ess the fa t the o pus soft a e e a les the
tea he , stude t o esea he to o e e o d si gle te ts he stud i g the
la guage a d to add ess the e pe tatio s a d p e o eptio s the a al ead
ha e a out the a legal la guage should eha e.
Fi all , it is this o ple a d, e ould sa , pe ulia atu e of legal E glish that
has led to the de isio to di ide the ook i to t o diffe e t, ut o ple e ta
pa ts, o e theo eti al a d o e p a ti al. The ook is ased o the otio that e
a ot t ul u de sta d the disti ti e aspe ts that ake up the ast field of legal
E glish ithout stud i g so e theo eti al issues. The fi st pa t of the ook, the ,
 INTRODUCTION

i t odu es the histo a d theo ehi d legal E glish a d atte pts to a s e

so e of the follo i g uestio s:
x What is it a out legal E glish that akes it diffe e t f o o di a ,
sta da d E glish a d hat is the e te t to these diffe e es?
x What a e the spe ifi featu es of legal E glish that ake it disti t?
The o ds le is , the diffe e t t pes of te ts ge es , the a s o ds
a e fo ed o pholog , the a s se te es a e fo ed s ta ?
x What te d to e the ai p o le s fo Italia s ho a e lea i g legal
E glish?
x What is the est a to app oa h the stud of legal E glish a d hi h
skills should a lea e fo us o ?
x What a te h i ues a out Co pus Li guisti s tell us a out the atu e
a d use of legal E glish?

Pa t II of the ook is de oted to p a ti al issues a out the p a ti e of la

ai l i the U ited “tates a d E gla d, t o of the ost i po ta t co o law
ou t ies. The u its i this pa t add ess i po ta t issues su h as hat the la is
a d hat the sou es of la a e, i ludi g the o igi s of the co o law a d
e ui ; a o pa iso of the diffe e t legal t aditio s a d s ste s i Ital a d the
A glo-A e i a o ld; o ki g i / ith the la ; the legal s ste of the U“ s. the
UK; the st u tu e of the ou ts; pu li a d p i ate la ; aspe ts of i il a d i i al
la ; a d aspe ts of EU la . These hapte s i lude eadi g o p ehe sio te ts,
uestio s fo o p ehe sio a d dis ussio , g a ati al e pla atio s a d
e e ises, as ell as liste i g o p ehe sio a ti ities. Mo eo e , the e is a
glossa at the e d of the ook he e the ost i po ta t o a ula ite s a e
defi ed i E glish a d a t a slatio p o ided i Italia .
It should e oted, ho e e , that the ook is also di ided i su h a a so that
the lea e a follo the a ti ities i hi he e a he/she feels e essa .
“o e lea e s a de ide to ead the theo eti al a d a kg ou d i fo atio i
Pa t I fi st a d the p o eed to the p a ti al a ti ities i Pa t II. Othe s a de ide
to do the p a ti al a ti ities i Pa t II a d efe a k to Pa t I fo o e i fo atio
a out e tai uses a d st u tu es of legal E glish.