Abstract

This paper is concerned with legal English and its potential difficulties that impede comprehension. The language characteristics of the written medium of legal English are going to be dealt with. The accounts given by some of the authors who have realized the necessity for language reform are presented. Thus, it is a summary of different views regarding the use of plain language. The paper shows how the general linguistic features of Legal English, defined in accordance with the principles of plain English writing, are changing. The complexity of Legal English lies in the fact that it is imbued with legalisms, i.e., archaic technical terms, and the overuse of synonymous, redundant and obscure expressions, as well as long and complex sentences written in the passive voice. The issue is how to simplify and clarify written legal documents, so that ordinary citizens, as legal entities with little or no knowledge of legal matters, can understand them. However, the results of these efforts still haven't reached all branches of law or types of legal documents, so there is still plenty of room for improvement. Therefore, the focus of the paper would be to give the stylistic markers of the general linguistic features that could encourage lawyers worldwide to write in Plain English