ENGLISH FOR LAW Legal Terms and Abbreviations Importance

ENGLISH FOR LAW Legal Terms and Abbreviations

Importance of English in law � It is the main language used around the world not only for teaching law, but also for practice � Works as ‘Tool of trade’ for lawyers ◦ Mastery in vocabulary helps lawyers greatly when it comes to legal matters � Understand legal materials easily and quickly, thus saves time ◦ Textbooks, cases, statutes and journals are mostly in English and having sound command in the language makes jobs fast.

The use of Latin in legal language � The use of Latin in legal texts has been popular since time immemorial � Certain legal terms has been given specific Latin terms to connote certain meaning � E. g. loco parentis (in the place of the parent) � Actus reus (guilty act) � Mens rea (guilty mind) � Obiter dictum (saying by the way) � Ratio decidendi (reasons for the decision), a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision

Decline in the use of Latin � In Malaysia and many parts of the world, there has been a move to depart from usage of Latin in legal texts � Some Latin concepts are difficult to be expressed in native tongue � Latin terms are being replaced by plain English

Legal Abbreviations � Use of abbreviations in law is very popular � For example, ◦ ◦ CJ (refers to Chief Justice) LJ (Lord Justice) JCA (Judge of the Court of Appeal) FCJ (Federal Court Judge) � Reference to dictionary or abbreviation guidebook should assist for understanding