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Papers by Jonathan Teasdale
European Journal of Law Reform
European Journal of Law Reform, 2017
in the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, and co-leader (with Dr Enrico Albanesi) o... more in the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, and co-leader (with Dr Enrico Albanesi) of the IALS Law Reform Project. He is a barrister (now non-practising) and former lawyer with the Law Commission for England and Wales, and one time was a local authority chief executive.
European Journal of Law Reform, 2020
European Journal of Law Reform, 2009
European Journal of Law Reform, 2016
The Work of the British Law Commissions : Law Reform… Now?, 2017
The Theory and Practice of Legislation, 2017
Abstract Law and language are interwoven. Law is a tool for the regulation of social order. Its e... more Abstract Law and language are interwoven. Law is a tool for the regulation of social order. Its efficiency relies on the use of appropriate language to communicate its principles. If the rule of law is to be respected as the bedrock of justice law itself has to be relevant to everyday life and accessible to all within its territorial reach, whether on a national or an international plane. Reform of the law is a necessary and continuing process. It is about keeping the law up-to-date, ensuring that its underlying purpose is transmitted in as effective a manner as possible. As social attitudes and economic circumstances change, as technology advances, as cultural norms develop, law across a multitude of disciplines is challenged to keep pace with the needs of the communities it serves. Language is the vehicle by which law is delivered. Words and phrases, even concepts, used fifty or a hundred years ago may not be apposite for the needs of the present. Today there is greater demand for law to be less obscure, where practicable less complex and over-elaborate, for it to be written in plain terms, and for those who practise it to be less elitist. Law needs to be more accessible to citizens at large. In this linguistics has a growing role to play. The study of language and how it is constructed and employed has lessons for statutory drafters (as creators of law) at one end of the legal spectrum and for lawyer-advisers and courts (as interpreters of law) at the other. Law-makers and law-users need law to be coherent and presented in a manner which minimises misunderstanding and misapplication. Systematic review and focused codification are steps in that legislative process. It helps parliamentarians, policy makers and practitioners to help the people who matter–us.
European Journal of Law Reform
European Journal of Law Reform, 2017
in the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, and co-leader (with Dr Enrico Albanesi) o... more in the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, and co-leader (with Dr Enrico Albanesi) of the IALS Law Reform Project. He is a barrister (now non-practising) and former lawyer with the Law Commission for England and Wales, and one time was a local authority chief executive.
European Journal of Law Reform, 2020
European Journal of Law Reform, 2009
European Journal of Law Reform, 2016
The Work of the British Law Commissions : Law Reform… Now?, 2017
The Theory and Practice of Legislation, 2017
Abstract Law and language are interwoven. Law is a tool for the regulation of social order. Its e... more Abstract Law and language are interwoven. Law is a tool for the regulation of social order. Its efficiency relies on the use of appropriate language to communicate its principles. If the rule of law is to be respected as the bedrock of justice law itself has to be relevant to everyday life and accessible to all within its territorial reach, whether on a national or an international plane. Reform of the law is a necessary and continuing process. It is about keeping the law up-to-date, ensuring that its underlying purpose is transmitted in as effective a manner as possible. As social attitudes and economic circumstances change, as technology advances, as cultural norms develop, law across a multitude of disciplines is challenged to keep pace with the needs of the communities it serves. Language is the vehicle by which law is delivered. Words and phrases, even concepts, used fifty or a hundred years ago may not be apposite for the needs of the present. Today there is greater demand for law to be less obscure, where practicable less complex and over-elaborate, for it to be written in plain terms, and for those who practise it to be less elitist. Law needs to be more accessible to citizens at large. In this linguistics has a growing role to play. The study of language and how it is constructed and employed has lessons for statutory drafters (as creators of law) at one end of the legal spectrum and for lawyer-advisers and courts (as interpreters of law) at the other. Law-makers and law-users need law to be coherent and presented in a manner which minimises misunderstanding and misapplication. Systematic review and focused codification are steps in that legislative process. It helps parliamentarians, policy makers and practitioners to help the people who matter–us.