English for Legal Purposes: A Brief History, Challenges and Remedies for Effective Use

This paper deals with the importance, challenges and solution for efficient use of Legal English in India.Legal English has been in use ever since the British came to India and took over its political and business administration.They continued British law and language that was in force in England and other British colonies.During the pre-independence age, there was no resistance for the use of English used in India as a few elite people with foreign educational qualifications got into legal profession and it pleased the British officers as well.Post independence, Indian legal system has not changed much immediately.It took a lot of time for Indian system to adapt to the local needs shedding the influence of the age old colonial legal practices.As Indian legal professionals felt the need for reforms in Indian legal system, they began making it simple and the use of plain English was incorporated eventually.The paper also highlights the challenges Indian legal English faced and the barriers that hampered the progress of it due to various reasons and factors are also discussed.The paper concludes with a set of remedies that address the challenges encountered by both legal professionals and ordinary people in understanding, analyzing and interpreting legal language.