70 Years Of Indian Judiciary | Opinion: A Multilingual Nation Like India Is Incapable Of Conveying The Law To All Its Citizen

An oft-quoted legal maxim is that ignorance of the law is no excuse. However, in order for citizens to know the law, it is necessary that the law be made available to them in an affordable,바카라 웹사이트accessible manner—most importantly, in a language they can understand. This is no simple task in a democracy of a billion-plus바카라 웹사이트people speaking 121 languages. Even three-quarters of a century after independence and over two decades after the birth of the internet, the Indian state is still struggling to make available all Indian laws available to Indian citizens in languages they can understand.바카라 웹사이트Three specific policy issues stand out in this context: the India Code website launched by the legislative department, the plain language drafting movement,바카라 웹사이트and lastly, the issue of authorised translations of law. 바카라 웹사이트

After a law is enacted by Parliament and receives the President라이브 바카라 assent, it is published in the Gazette of India. This version, considered the authoritative text of the law and recognised in the evidence act,바카라 웹사이트is relied upon by courts. In reality,바카라 웹사이트the gazette has been relatively inaccessible and the legal community mostly relies on commercial publishers who publish annotated versions of the bare text published in the gazette. Unlike the government, these private publishers also incorporate subsequent amendments to the law and produce a consolidated version.바카라 웹사이트With the birth of the internet, the government had an opportunity to radically rethink the manner in which it disseminated legal information—and바카라 웹사이트took baby steps by launching the India Code portal.

Now, most central laws and some state laws are at least available on one website (which received a substantial technological and information upgrade with바카라 웹사이트a series of바카라 웹사이트Delhi High Court orders)바카라 웹사이트and some credit is due to its prime movers.바카라 웹사이트But the website loses all significance because neither the legislative department nor the NIC is willing to certify the accuracy of the text of the law they make available on India Code. The portal carries the following disclaimer: “Material provided on this site is provided ‘as is’, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. Legislative department specifically does not make any warranties or representations as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of any such material or the same being up-to-date.” (sic) It is rather worrying that the legislative department of the mighty central government of the world라이브 바카라 largest democracy is unable to certify the accuracy of its own legislation.

Also, they have chosen the most obsolete technology. Currently, India Code makes available legislation in a PDF and HTML format.바카라 웹사이트This poorly compares with the utility offered by foreign government바카라 웹사이트websites—computer languages such as Akoma Ntoso (AKN),바카라 웹사이트for instance, make it easier to access different versions of the law in time. Many of these foreign websites also offer API (application programming interface) access to common users. In simple English, API access makes it possible for innovators to build a variety of applications based on information put out by the government. For example, in the UK, which offers바카라 웹사이트API access to www.legislation.gov.uk,바카라 웹사이트third parties have reportedly developed useful apps that바카라 웹사이트allow lecturers to self-publish relevant extracts of legislation.

Plain language of the law

Besides access to laws,바카라 웹사이트an important question that needs to be addressed is with respect to the form of the law itself. Only when the text of law is바카라 웹사이트drafted in plain language will there be a benefit for citizens. There is no movement for plain language drafting in India—though this has been recognised as a basic right internationally. Fundamentally,바카라 웹사이트the plain language movement sees communication of the law to be a바카라 웹사이트core aspect. Making sure a law discloses volumes of information, in a manner that바카라 웹사이트would not overload or confuse the reader, became an important keystone. New Zealand, Germany, the UK Australia바카라 웹사이트and Hong Kong바카라 웹사이트have been drafting legislation, guidelines or manuals to ensure plain language. For example, the Tax Law Rewrite Project (TLRP) of the UK aims to rewrite direct tax legislation in a simple,바카라 웹사이트accessible format using modern language and shorter sentences. The movement also gives emphasis on legal vocabulary not being archaic or outdated,바카라 웹사이트as can be seen in many colonial-era laws in India. The time has come for India, belated as it may be, to embrace the plain language drafting movement and enable citizens to make better-informed decisions.

Translating바카라 웹사이트law

Central legislation is generally published only in English and Hindi,바카라 웹사이트a legal requirement under the Constitution and the official languages act (OLA). No legal mandate exists for the government to translate the law into any of the other 121 languages spoken in India, or for that matter even into the 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule.바카라 웹사이트Despite this,바카라 웹사이트a presidential order was issued바카라 웹사이트in 1960, creating the Official Language (Legislative) Commission—now ‘Official Language Wing’ or바카라 웹사이트OLW—which was tasked바카라 웹사이트with translating central laws into regional languages enumerated in the Eighth Schedule. The OLW works바카라 웹사이트in close collaboration with official language (legislative) commissions (of the states) or state law departments.바카라 웹사이트A바카라 웹사이트draft made by the states is sent to the OLW, the central authority,바카라 웹사이트where the draft바카라 웹사이트is vetted by a working group and a language officer.바카라 웹사이트This official translation is sent to the President of India to be signed into law,바카라 웹사이트thus gaining the status of “authoritative text” (as defined by the Authoritative Texts Act, 1973, or ATA). The problem is,바카라 웹사이트the process is hardly smooth. And crucial legislation, like the Civil Procedure Code, 1908,바카라 웹사이트or even the IPC of 1860 are unavailable in some Eighth Schedule languages.

Now, the ATA has a prominent limitation:바카라 웹사이트the authenticity of the text is guaranteed only to translations바카라 웹사이트into languages recognised in the Eighth Schedule.바카라 웹사이트These바카라 웹사이트are not even a fraction of the existing number of languages spoken in India, and only through inclusion into the Eighth Schedule can authoritative translations바카라 웹사이트come to be in those languages.바카라 웹사이트And that라이브 바카라 a distant dream for many languages. Access to such translated texts is another major issue.바카라 웹사이트Besides publishing it in the official gazette and legislative department website, there are no publication guidelines.

The way forward

Three core aspects come to the fore. Firstly, proper dissemination strategies and the latest technological standards must be adopted, like the user-friendly interface of the UK website. Secondly, the바카라 웹사이트plain language approach will ensure those affected by a law are바카라 웹사이트in a position to ascertain its meaning and effect—this only deepens democratic rule of law. Thirdly, a multilingual nation like India바카라 웹사이트must convey바카라 웹사이트 the law to all its citizens—the European Union,바카라 웹사이트for instance, has published laws in 24 EU languages. English is anyway not the primary language of the majority of our바카라 웹사이트population,바카라 웹사이트and archaic legal바카라 웹사이트vocabulary바카라 웹사이트makes it doubly prohibitive.바카라 웹사이트A constitutional democracy like India must not tolerate the status quo.