In this issue Multilingual legislative drafting William Robinson How the European Commission drafts legislation in 20 languages 4 Juliet Weenink-Griffiths The European Central Bank’s approach to Clarity drafting legislation in 20 languages 11 Duncan Berry Number 53 May 2005 The effect of poorly written legislation in a bilingual legal system 15 Journal of the Emma Wagner international association Producing multilingual legislation in Switzerland 18 promoting plain legal language Ian Frame Linguistic oddities in European Union legislation: don’t shoot the translator 21 Plain language in non-English speaking and multilingual countries Catherine Rawson Just fix the English 25 Christopher Williams Progetto Chiaro! and the plain language movement in Italy 30 Cheryl Stephens Canada’s multilingual plain language projects 33 Myla Kaplan Legalese of biblical proportions: some observations on legal language in Israel 36 Maggie Jo St John Citizen’s Language: Plain language in Mexico 39 Daniel Cassany Plain language in Spain 41 Vijay Bhatia Plain English in Asia 45 Kyal Hill Legal English in Japan: a translator’s perspective 48 Lei-Theng Lim Plain English in Singapore: preparing the next generation of lawyers 51 Other ways of tackling clear writing Mike Unwalla ASD simplified technical English 54 Margaret van Naerssen A forensic test of a Pennsylvanian contract 57 Editor in chief: Michèle Asprey Book reviews 63 Clarity and general news 65–72 Guest editor for this issue: Conference announcements & reports 65 Catherine Rawson Patrons The Rt Hon Sir Christopher Staughton and The Hon Justice Michael Kirby Founder John Walton Committee President: Professor Joseph Kimble ([email protected]) Members: Country Representatives plus Simon Adamyk, Mark Adler, Michèle Asprey, Peter Butt, Sir Edward Caldwell, Robert Eagleson, Nicole Fernbach, Robert Lowe, John Pare, John Walton, Richard Woof. Country representatives Australia: Christopher Balmford Malaysia: Juprin Wong-Adamal Words and Beyond Pty Ltd Department of Human Resources Development 1 Barrack St, Sydney NSW 2000 7th Floor, Block A, Wisma MUIS 02 8235 2337 (fax 9290 2280) 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah [email protected] 88 218722 ext. 199 (fax 88 211 554) [email protected] Brazil: Dominic C. Minett Lex English Language Services Ltda New Zealand: Richard Castle Rua Humberto I, 298 148A Tinakori Road Bloco B, Sala 2, 2o andar, Vila Mariana Thorndon, Wellington 6002 Sao Paulo, SP 04018-030 04 938 0711 (fax 934 0712) 011 5084 4613 (phone & fax) [email protected] [email protected] Philippines: Victor Eleazar Canada: Philip Knight 4/F Unit C-2 Marvin Plaza Building 1074 Fulton Avenue 2153 Chino Roces Avenue W. Vancouver, BC V7T 1N2 Makati City 1200 604 628 0387 (fax 925 0912) 02 897 1681 (fax 897 5257) [email protected] [email protected] France: Anne Wagner Singapore: Lei-Theng Lim Département Droit Faculty of Law Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale National University of Singapore 21, rue Saint-Louis, BP 774 13 Law Link, 117590 62327 Boulogne sur Mer Cédex 6874 6464 (fax 6779 0979) 03 21 99 41 22 (fax 21 99 41 57) [email protected] [email protected] South Africa: Adv Annelize Nienaber Hong Kong: Wai-chung Suen Law Faculty, University of Pretoria Department of Justice Pretoria, 0002 9/F Queensway Govt Offices 012 420 2634 (fax 420 4524) 66 Queensway, Admiralty [email protected] 2867 4171 (fax 2845 2215) Sweden: Barbro Ehrenberg-Sundin [email protected] Justitiedepartementet India: Sandeep Dave SE-103 33 Stockholm 4 Kanch, Plot No 191, 11th Road 08 405 48 23 (fax 20 27 34) West of Khar, Mumbai 400052 [email protected] 22 2600 0550 (phone & fax) UK: Paul Clark [email protected] Cripps Harries Hall Israel: Myla Kaplan Wallside House POB 56357, 34987 Haifa 12 Mt Ephraim Road 054 3132010 (fax 04 8110020) Tunbridge Wells [email protected] Kent TN1 1EG 01892 515121 (fax 01892 544878) Italy: Christopher Williams [email protected] Via Taranto 33 70031 Andria (BA) USA: Prof Joseph Kimble 0883 554171 Thomas Cooley Law School [email protected] PO Box 13038 Lansing, Michigan 48901-3038 Japan: Kyal Hill 1 517 371 5140 (fax 334 5781) Apartment 706 Presle Tamaishi [email protected] 4-15-28 Toshima, Kita-ku Tokyo 114-0003 Other European countries: 080 3415 2082 (fax 03 5390 1700) Catherine Rawson [email protected] [email protected] All other countries: Please contact the USA representative 2 Clarity 53 May 2005 This issue This issue reviews plain language initiatives around the world, particularly in non-English speaking countries and multi-lingual countries. About half the articles discuss the complexities of drafting legislation in more than one language. Most of the others deal with the challenges of trans- lating and editing texts written by non-native speakers of English. Two articles deal respectively with a linguist’s forensic test of the “plainness” of a contract, and “simplified English”—the plainer- than-plain international writing standard used by An international association the aero industry to promote safety. Getting news of what is going on around the world promoting plain legal language has taken imagination and persistence. How do you find someone to ask? Having found a likely www.clarity-international.net person, how do you persuade that person to write for Clarity? President Professor Joseph Kimble Despite the bumper size of this issue, its overview is [email protected] not comprehensive. Some countries apparently they do not have plain language initiatives in the public or private sectors. Other countries’ fledgling plain Clarity … the journal language initiatives seem to have lost momentum, leaving little of consequence to talk about. In some Published in May and November cases I was unable to find anyone who would respond or who was willing to contribute. Editor in chief Michèle Asprey But Asia is awakening to the benefits of plain PO Box 379 Milsons Point language. In February, the Malaysian Securities NSW Australia 1565 Commission published The Plain Language Guide for Fax: 61 2 9252 0189 Prospectuses. And last year the Hong Kong Mortgage [email protected] Corporation, a statutory authority, issued HK’s first plain language prospectus. Readers will be able to Guest editors for next issue read about this experience in Clarity No 54. Nicole Fernbach The Clarity and Obscurity in Legal Language confer- Juricom, Inc. ence being held in France in July (see pages 65–67) Phone: 1 514 8454834 has two sessions reviewing plain language around [email protected] world. We hope that this issue of Clarity will act as Edward Caldwell a “tickler” for the conference, encouraging you to Law Commission come along and share your experiences. Phone : 44 20 7453 1206 (direct) Finally, if you know of a plain language initiative or 1238 (secretary) not mentioned in this issue, please email me about it [email protected] because Clarity is keen to learn of developments and Advertising rates hear of your experiences. Full page: £150 Catherine Rawson Smaller area: pro rata [email protected] Minimum charge: £20 Catherine Rawson helps multi- Contact Joe Kimble, [email protected] lingual organisations ensure that their staff write clear, concise, Copyright policy readable English, regardless of Authors retain copyright in their articles. their native language. By using Anyone wanting to reproduce an article in whole tailored software to reinforce Catherine’s plain English or in part should first obtain the permission of the training, her clients are able to author, and should acknowledge Clarity as the monitor the quality of their source of the original. English communications. Clarity 53 May 2005 3 How the European Commission drafts legislation in 20 languages William Robinson Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Coordinator in the Legal Revisers Group of the European Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Commission’s Legal Service, Brussels, Belgium Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. European Union (EU) legislation applies to 450 million Article 4 provides “Regulations and other documents people in 25 countries and exists in 20 languages which of general application shall be drafted in the twenty all have equal status. This article describes how the official languages”, thus indicating that there is not European Commission drafts legislation, what it has simply one original language version and 19 trans- already done to improve drafting quality and what more lations. Under Article 5, the Official Journal of the it could do. European Union must be published in all 20 languages. The article expresses the author’s personal views and does Exceptionally, because of difficulties regarding not necessarily reflect those of the Commission. It is far translation into Maltese, Regulation (EC) No 930/ from exhaustive and focuses on actual drafting of Euro- 2004 lays down that, for a limited period, acts need pean Community legislation in the Commission, not what not be drafted and published in Maltese. Irish is not happens before or after. an official language under Regulation No 1, but the Treaties themselves are authentic in Irish. The European Community (EC) Although all 20 official languages are the working legislative process languages of the institutions according to Regu- Under the EC Treaty as amended over the years lation No 1, the institutions’ day-to-day work can most basic Community legislation is adopted jointly hardly be carried on in all of them simultaneously. by the European Parliament, directly elected by EU Different institutions have chosen different practical citizens, and the Council, representing the govern- solutions, a number of which have faced legal or ments of the Member States, with only a few fields political challenges. Some institutions have opted such as taxation, agriculture, and fisheries being for a single internal working language: French for reserved to the Council alone. But in almost all cases the European Court of Justice, English for the Euro- the proposal for legislation—the first draft of the pean Central Bank, for example.