Writing about law with style: when form is substance
On 9 November 2024, at the A. Vergari Municipal Library, an important conference was held entitled “Writing about law with style”, an event strongly desired and included within the writing course “Exercises in Style” – sponsored by the Municipality of Nardò and directed by the writer Federica Rega.
The event saw the participation of illustrious speakers, including the magistrate, former President of the Court of Lecce Roberto Tanisi and the lawyer Vincenzo Candido Renna, who addressed the crucial topic of legal writing and its accessibility.
After the institutional greetings of the Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Nardò – Giulia Puglia and the introduction of the course director Federica Rega, the interventions of the speakers followed and at the end a debate was also sparked with interventions from the public.
Legal language: between obscurity and the need for clarity
“It would already be enough to write clearly and in good Italian,” began Dr. Tanisi, highlighting how the very title of the conference could appear pretentious. Legal language, by its nature, presents itself as an obscure code to most people, an “initiatory language” as the great journalist Indro Montanelli defined it, typical of a caste of bureaucrats, judges and lawyers.
The power of language as an instrument of power
The complexity of legal language is not only a question of form, but also of substance. As Dr. Tanisi underlined, the judge exercises a double power: the institutional one, as representative of the judicial power, and the linguistic one, through the use of a language that is often incomprehensible to the common citizen. This overlapping of powers risks further distancing citizens from justice.
Cesare Beccaria already denounced judicial obscurity as a “great evil” for the citizen, who finds himself unable to independently evaluate the consequences of his own actions as he understands neither the text of the law nor the language of lawyers and judges.
The vices of legal writing
The analysis highlighted two main critical issues in legal writing:
- Redundancy: too much is written, violating the principle of conciseness established by article 546 of the code of criminal procedure, which requires a “concise exposition of the reasons of fact and law”.
- Linguistic obscurity: the use of archaic terms, often inappropriate Latin quotations and complex syntactic structures makes legal texts almost indecipherable for non-experts.
As the procedural expert Franco Cordero observed, Italian style suffers from a “chromosomal inheritance dating back to the Baroque era”, where “the more words fly, the less clear the speeches are”.
The social responsibility of legal writing
As the writer Melania Mazzucco, quoted during the conference, recalled, the judge who writes a sentence has a “disruptive responsibility” as a representative of society. The sentences are not just technical documents, but historical testimonies that convey “the meaning of the time in which we live, its nobility, its breadth of views or its anguish”.
Legal writing in the digital age
The lawyer Renna brought attention to a contemporary dimension of the problem, highlighting how legal writing is facing new challenges in the digital age. “Since the digital administration code of 2005”, underlined Renna, “we have been witnessing the digitalisation of procedures, and in the meantime we are faced with the introduction of artificial intelligence, which is already changing the course of our lives”. These changes introduce new languages that have an intrinsic complexity, being transversal and multidisciplinary, but above all universal, exceeding national borders.
The educational and social dimension
The discussion between the speakers highlighted how the problem of legal writing is closely connected to the education of citizens. The lawyer Renna emphasized the need to rethink the functioning of educational agencies: “The citizen with sovereignty, to whom the Constitution assigns rights and duties, often does not have the ability to claim his own rights.”
The power of language as an instrument of power
The complexity of legal language is not only a question of form, but also of substance. As Dr. Tanisi underlined, the judge exercises a double power: the institutional one, as representative of the judicial power, and the linguistic one, through the use of a language that is often incomprehensible to the common citizen.
The sustainability of legal language
An innovative aspect emerged from the intervention of the lawyer. Renna concerns the sustainability of legal language. “There is a lot of discussion about sustainability,” he observed, “and the language of sustainability must also enter the path of the culture of us citizens.” This reflection is linked to the need for a legal language that is not only technically precise, but also socially responsible and future-oriented.
Responsibility towards future generations
As highlighted by the lawyer. Renna, “we adults who play roles in various capacities have a responsibility towards future generations”. This responsibility is also manifested in the need to make legal language more accessible and understandable, preparing new generations to face the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
Towards a new legal writing
In recent years there have been signs of change. Giovanni Canzio, former president of the Court of Cassation, promoted a renewal in the way of writing and communicating legal issues. The 2010 Magna Carta of European Judges expressly recommends that magistrates draft provisions in simple, clear and understandable language.
The role of education
A crucial aspect that emerged from the conference concerns the role of legal education. As highlighted by the speakers, little space is dedicated in Italian universities to the teaching of legal writing. The Law degree program may devote more time to practical training, including forensic writing.
Conclusions and perspectives
The event highlighted how legal writing is not just a question of style, but a fundamental element to guarantee effective access to justice. The challenge for the future is to find a balance between the necessary technicality of legal language and the need for clarity and comprehensibility for citizens.
To achieve this goal, you need:
– A reform of university teaching of the subjects
– A conscious renewal of the style of judges and lawyers
– The adoption of guidelines for the drafting of documents that favor clarity
– Greater attention to the continuous training of professionals
– The conscious integration of new technologies into legal language
– The development of a more accessible and sustainable legal culture by extending the teaching of law in schools of all levels.
Only through these changes will it be possible to achieve that “human and understandable” justice which represents not only an ideal, but a necessity for a modern democratic society.
Lawyer Vincenzo Renna
