Supreme Court of India Photograph:( Reuters )

While rules connote the lawyers’ submissions on the pertinent problems, issues refer to the question of law that the court is deciding

India's apex court has ruled that judgements should not confuse readers by using complex language because it “speaks to the present and to the future.”

Emphasing that each judgment is a brick in the consolidation of the fundamental precepts on which a legal order is based, Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said they are instrumental “in fostering the rule of law and in curbing rule by the law.”

From providing headings to a table of contents for long judgements, the format laid down by the top court is called the “Issue, Rule, Application and Conclusion” (IRAC) structure.

While rules connote the lawyers’ submissions on the pertinent problems, issues refer to the question of law that the court is deciding.

According to the bench, ''The purpose of judicial writing is not to confuse or confound the reader behind the veneer of complex language.''

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''The judge must write to provide an easy-to-understand analysis of the issues of law and fact, which arise for decision...While a judgment is read by those as well who have training in the law, they do not represent the entire universe of discourse,'' it added.

“If the meaning of the written word is lost in language, the ability of the adjudicator to retain the trust of the reader is severely eroded... Whether or not the writer of a judgment envisions it, the written product remains for the future, representing another incremental step in societal dialogue,”  said Justice Chandrachud.

“Judgment writing is a layered exercise. In one layer, a judgment addresses the concerns and arguments of parties to a forensic contest. In another layer, a judgment addresses stakeholders beyond the conflict. It speaks to those in society who are impacted by the discourse. In the layered formulation of analysis, a judgment speaks to the present and to the future.”

“Courts are as much engaged in the slow yet not so silent process of bringing about a social transformation. How good or deficient they are in that quest is tested by the quality of the reasons as much as by the manner in which the judicial process is structured,” it said.

“Equally significant is the fact that a judgment speaks to the present and to the future. Judicial outcomes taken singularly or in combination have an impact upon human lives. Hence, a judgment is amenable to wider critique and scrutiny, going beyond the immediate contest in a courtroom. Citizens, researchers and journalists continuously evaluate the work of courts as public institutions committed to governance under law,” added the bench.  

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