Officialese in Scientific Legal Writings

Abstract

The paper assumes that the wording in a scientific text, including a scientific legal writing, should be precise and clear. However, in modern scientific writings on various branches of law, these requirements are not always met; the researchers often make errors of the same type, be it stylistic, lexical, syntactic or other errors. The subject of this study is officialese – phrases that have migrated to scientific papers from business papers and legal documents. The author takes into account the fact that scientific legal writings are influenced by the language of normative acts and it is not always possible to get rid of bureaucratic jargon, but insists that their overuse clutters up the texts and makes them difficult to understand.

The following officialese are considered: grammatical cases stringing, excessive use of the passive voice, splitting predicates and using verbal nouns. It is noted that the researchers reluctance to use verbs often only harms the text, depriving it of clarity and brevity. Examples from editorial practice are given, it is explained where the error was made, and options for editing are offered. In conclusion, general recommendations are given that will help researchers make the text clearer and more concise, without in any way diminishing its scientific value.