CONTEMPORARY LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING: PLAIN ENGLISH PRINCIPLES

Abstract

This paper established that the primitive language used for legal drafting has occasioned poor arrangement, poor structure, inconsistent and elaborate mode of expression as opposed to the use of plain English language. It has been discovered that the language used by conveyances for drafting of legislation is particularly tailored towards the style used for drafting of conveyances thereby making legislations an uphill for laymen. This paper therefore examine how drafters of legislation can adopt the use of plain English in legislative drafting without necessarily altering the intention the legislators and causing any ambiguity. It is argued in this paper that the use of plain English has offered a lot of benefits to the executive, legislators and judiciary particularly for interpretation of laws. Finally, the paper affirms that the use of plain English as modern language in legislative drafting has brought positive change in legislative drafting in UK and many of the Commonwealth countries. The result of the study showed that much as legislation and the drafting style in UK were readily received and adopted in Nigeria, however, changes like the adoption of plain English, gender neutral language and devices that would enhance clarity are not adopted with as much gusto hence, the need for the Nigerian drafters to learn from other Commonwealth counterparts.